The Spirit of the Blue
by K.B.Maillet
Summary: A retelling of Phantom Hourglass but with a twist. A lost soul follows the Hero of the Winds as they uncover the truth behind the mysteries surrounding the Ghost Ship after Tetra becomes trapped on board.
1. Prologue

_"No matter where you'll be,_  
_You'll always be with me  
__Right here deep inside my heart_

_All our memories,_  
_They're treasures to me_  
_Even if we end up far apart..."_

* * *

**~.: Prologue :.~**

* * *

No matter how long he stared at the strange girl laying in the sand, he simply couldn't make up his mind on whether she was alive or not.

The child tilts his head, placing a finger quizzically in his mouth as he tries to decide what it could be. It's not like he's seen a _dead_ person to know what one should look like (at least none he remembers), but he's seen plenty of people _alive_ to know that someone should _not be that pale_ if they really were alive. And yet at the same time, he was pretty sure the girl wasn't dead. It's as if she was merely ignoring him at the moment as he spied on her from behind a nearby tree. His personal dilemma made him frown, briefly looking around to the other islanders currently meandering about and minding their own business in the hot afternoon sun, completely oblivious to the person who had definitely _not_ been there in the earlier morning.

Could they not seen her? Should he go ask someone for help? Was she hurt?

The girl's arms laid outstretched from her sides, dull grey eyes staring blankly up into the blue summer skies as a waft of warm sea breeze plays with loose strands of blond hair sticking out from under a floppy dark blue hat. A small frown tugs at the corner of his lips again, it felt strange seeing someone lay so motionless that their chest didn't even move.

That had to mean she was dead!

_Right?_

The boy wonders vaguely where she came from, having never seen clothing like her's in all his years on Outset Island - though three years really isn't that long, to be fair. What stood out the most for him about her outfit was the long and baggy purple jacket, the blue cuffs tighter around the wrists with the large pocket in the front being the same color. There was a hood attached to the back, currently tucked under her head and no doubt covered in course sand now.

Curiosity was beginning to get the better of him and the child began to slowly make his way over to the girl, reaching over to poke her with a stick.

"...Do you mind?"

The slightly annoyed tone breaks him from his thoughts as he yelps and stumbles over his feet, landing on his bottom with wide green eyes staring at her in shock, "Wha- You're not dead?!"

There's a loud snort at the innocent question as her eyes rolled, still not bothering to sit up or look over in his direction, "Well no shit, why would I be dead?" The girl grumbles as though it should've been obvious and didn't need him standing there, spying on her for a solid 15 minutes beforehand.

But the boy continues to frown, so many questions coming to mind before he decided upon on the most pressing matter to him at the moment, "How come you're laying in the sand though?"

Her head finally turns towards him, a flat and almost lazy expression shifts slightly as her eyebrows drew down into a mild scowl, "Do you have a problem with it?" It didn't seem like she was trying to be rude or hostile to him, more...confused...if anything.

"No." A straightforward and innocent answer back, the child simply seemed just as confused by her unexplained presence.

With a sigh, she finally sits up and looks around. They were on the shores of the beach, close to the waters of an expansive blue seas. There's not much to look at besides the sand and a few trees scattered about, spotting a couple of houses as she turns to look behind her and eyes trailing over to the tall cliff in the distance, a bridge connecting it to another cliff on an island nearby. The islands seemed very small, housing maybe no more than a handful of people and the few pigs waddling around in the grass.

Reaching up to pull off her hat, the girl rakes her fingers to shake her short-cut hair as if to ruffle out the sand. It was odd seeing nothing fall out and finding none of the course grains stuck to her clothes, "Shit, where am I even?"

Even though the question was murmured under her breath, the boy perks up with a sunny smile to helpfully supplies her with an answer, "You're on Outset Island! I live here with my grand-mama and baby sister!" He even points out the cozy little house nestled west of them on the opposite island, the girl squints at it for a moment before slowly nodding her understanding, "There's not many people who live here but its a really nice place!"

"I see..." She seemed distracted by something, not that he minded much as he sat down next to her with his legs crossing and hands folded in his lap. When the girl finally looks to his still smiling face, she seemed a bit troubled and almost concerned. Well, at least that's what he could tell considering her face hasn't moved very much, "...How old are you even, kid?"

"I'm four years old!" He beams brighter (if possible), almost proud of his years thus far and even sticks up the correct amount of fingers to prove it, "How come you're here?"

"I..." A passing look of confusion and...something else freezes her face before frowning even deeper, "I don't know, I just woke up here, kid." She slips her floppy hat back onto her head and the boy wonders if she even finds it hot in all that warm clothing, "Nothing's really coming to mind."

His lower lip pouts in puzzlement as he tilts his head at her, "Are you lost then?"

"I mean...yeah? I guess you could say that..." Rubbing the back of her neck slightly, she turns her attention back to the chubby cheeked child staring at her as if he were waiting for something, "...Kid, you _really_ shouldn't be talkin' to strangers. Ya know?"

"But..." He blinks, confused as to why she keeps calling him a kid despite the fact she seemed no more than a few years older from him. He found it strange how she spoke like an adult, her words and tone didn't match with her voice. There was no way his grand-mama would ever let him speak like that! Besides, she said was lost, right? He couldn't just leave her like this, the very thought of suddenly being in an unfamiliar place sent a shiver down his spine. So he puffs his cheeks out which earned him a slightly raised brow, "That doesn't matter right now! I might not know who you are but no one else is coming to help, yeah? I don't wanna just leave you sitting here all by yourself cause that's rude and grand-mama says I should never be rude to people!"

The girl is taken aback, slowly blinking a few times at the cute but determined scowl scrunching the boy's face, "...Well damn, you don't have to be so straightforward." Before she sighs, letting her shoulders slump, "I suppose you're right though, you seem to be the only one speaking to me right now and I...I really don't remember anything." There's a moment where she stares at him in silence and the boy tries not to fidget under the dull gaze, "What's your name, kid?"

"My name is Link! How about you?"

"Ah, seems you forgot that I don't remember anything." Her cheeky drawl and slight smirk makes him blush, "...Hm, this is a bit of a problem though."

"Course it is! How are you gonna know if someone's talking to you if you don't got a name?" The boy, Link, huffs as he folds his arms and thinks about it for a moment. They didn't seem to be on the same page as to why not having a name was a bad thing but regardless, there had to be some way he could help the girl out, "...Blue."

"Wha...?"

"Blue!" He repeats with a gleeful grin, quickly scrambling to his feet as he thrusts a finger at her, "Your name! It can be Blue til you remember what your real name is!"

"Yeah but..." She begins slowly, looking at his finger then back up to his enthusiastic face, "But why the name _Blue_?"

"Cause...it's my favorite color..." He shrugs his shoulders.

"...Well...it could be worse." The girl sighs and shakes her head before finally standing up and shoving her hands into her front pocket, giving Link a small smile, "Alright then, I guess my name's Blue." Link grins back at his new friend as bright as the day.

However, little did either of them know that their fates had intertwined together and their path already laid out in front of them. As they would journey across both land and sea, fighting evil and experiencing a life they hadn't known, their bonds would grow as strong as steel. Of course, mysteries still followed them and the truth would be discovered along the way.

A truth which would later threaten to break that bond and tear them apart...

* * *

_8 years later (3 months after the events of the Wind Waker)..._

"Hey Blue, look! I can see dolphins!" Link immediately runs off to the railings with a childish glee, watching as the chipper aquatic mammals leapt with grace out of the ocean and dove back, sending a playful splash of water to them. Blue rolls her eyes before drifting on over to join the kid and stuffs her hands into her pocket.

"They're just dolphins, ya know..." The girl drawls out, smiling slightly as she watches them play around the hull.

"Yeah...but how often do we get to see them? They're so cool!"

"Link, what the hell are you doing?" Link flinches at the sound of the Pirate Captain, Tetra, as she makes her way over to him. Blue merely glances over from where she hovering above the sea, silently observing the way Link's shoulders slouch a bit and Tetra's foot tapping impatiently on the floorboards. The girl was a couple of years older than Link yet acted like a brawny sailor twice her age with trice the spirit. The _Hero of the Winds_ almost flinches at way she was standing behind him with her arms crossed over her chest and the scowl on her face, "You can't tell me you've already finished washing the decks!"

Link, looking almost dejected, points in the direction of the dolphins still swimming nearby, "But Tetra, there's dolphins..."

"And?" Tetra raises an eyebrow, "What do you want me to do about it?"

To be fair, she had a point. Dolphins weren't all that rare out at sea and even though she knew they weren't common where Link grew up, Blue knew that they were actually pretty common in most of the world. Or at least she assumed they were, it's not like she's seen much of the world herself being anchored to the kid. A fact they found out after a week of first meeting each other.

That had been an interesting discovery all those years ago when they also first learned about her unusual predicament (that and the fact she apparently doesn't age). Blue knew for a fact she wasn't dead but it almost seemed like she wasn't alive either, existing as a wandering soul to follow Link around because no one else knew she was there. At least that had been the case before Tetra showed up and unfortunately, Ganondorf. There had been a couple of people who could hear her, such as their boat guide, but it seemed that those who's destiny were tied to the Triforce were the only ones who could truly acknowledge her existence.

But Blue has enjoyed her time with Link so far, both the best and worst moments with his friendship as she watched him grow from a chubby cheeked boy that wanted nothing more to help her figure out what happened to a brave young man who saved the world and now was on the search for a new place they could call home. It's been one wild so far and even if they never come to solve the mystery behind her circumstances, Blue knows she doesn't mind sticking around the two who she's come to accept as her friends. She's honestly not sure what she would have done if Link never found her that day.

She probably would've gone crazy or depressed, neither seemed to be an appealing option for her.

Blue watches as Tetra scolds Link for putting off his chores yet again, the kid had a habit of getting easily distracted or simply putting off his duties out of sheer laziness in favor of a warm afternoon nap. The rest of the crew didn't exactly help with the problem either. In fact, Blue's pretty sure they encourage it since it meant watching the two duel it out in a flash of blades and a blast of gunpowder.

At least she could find entertainment in it as well considering there wasn't much to curb her boredom, no one aside from Link and Tetra could see or hear her.

Their duel ended as quickly as it began, a call from the lookout stole their attention away from each other. Luckily, it was something they had spent the past few weeks searching for, "Miss Tetra! We're almost there!"

"Almost to wher- hey!" Link's question was interrupted when Blue's hand fazes through his head and gives him a flat look, he turns around to pout at her, "What was that for, huh? You know how weird it feels when you do that?" She does, as a matter of fact, having heard him complain about it many times over the years. He's told her once that it always felt cold and tingly afterwards, not that she really remembers what that feels like.

"That was for asking stupid questions. Honestly, it's like you live life with your head in the clouds, kid." The girl shakes her head with a sigh, "You need to pay for attention to details."

Two of the crewmates share a look between each other before shrugging it off, having grown use to the strange interactions between Blue and Link or Tetra. They still found it strange but then again, they've seen _a lot_ of strange things this year.

Gonzo speaks up as he walks over to Link, answering his question from before, "The waters where a Ghost Ship is said to be."

"Huh? A Ghost Ship?" Blue, having already eavesdropped on the conversation after sneaking into the Captain's cabin earlier, goes back to watch the dolphins entertain a few of the other crewmates. Gonzo goes on to explain that many ships have vanished around these parts of the ocean which didn't really make much sense. The seas were said to be protected by a deity called the _Ocean King_ so if something evil really was going around and stealing ships, it doesn't make sense why a deity would let it happen. Of course, Tetra didn't seem to believe in the other rumors about a Ghost Ship lurking around the same place as the disappearances, instead believing it was a gang of pirates causing the problem.

Considering Blue's situation though, you'd think they'd take the rumors a bit more seriously than they were.

But the rumors of the Ghost Ship wasn't what attracted them. Through plenty of sleuthing as they gathered information, they also heard the tales of the Ocean King and their ability to grant wishes. If they were true by any means, Blue was dead set on searching for the legendary spirit who might be able to help her, even if there wasn't much they could do.

_I intend to get to the bottom of it!_

"I'll be the one to bring down the Ghost Ship!" Link grins at the Captain who turned to scowl at him, "You just sit here and wait, Tetra!"

"What?" She scoffs before gripping onto the handle of her cutlass, "Don't be so cheeky! En Garde!"

Blue chuckles as she looks over to them, the reckless fools. They've been an absolute treat and while she hasn't known Tetra for nearly as long as Link, it didn't change the fact they enjoyed each others company. Blue liked Tetra's snarky yet loyal attitude, even if they didn't always see eye to eye. She still remembers the first day she met the spit-fire girl, how excited and terrified she had been when they learned Tetra could see her. For all those years, it had only been Link who could ever notice the floating girl but now? There was just one more person to make her feel a little less alone.

However, the warm reminiscent memories are interrupted as a chill of dread sunk deep into her core.

"Uh...guys?" Blue's voice went unnoticed by the two who began to fight again, this time Link equipped himself with the broom he'd been using to clean the deck, "...Hey guys?"

Link thrusts his makeshift sword towards Tetra and hooks her scarf on the end of the broom, loosening it from her neck as a breeze picks up to carry the colourful fabric away, "Ah, your scarf!"

"Miss Tetra's trademark!"

"Seriously, guys, there's something-"

But of course, everyone was too busy freaking out over the scarf (except for the owner of the scarf as she simply shrugged it off) and Blue feels a twitch on her left temple as she floats on over to Link who was in the middle of stripping off his clothes to go retrieve the item. Luckily, that plan came to a halt as Blue suddenly pops up in front of him, starting Link and the rest of the crew to finally gain their attention, "What was that about, Blue?" The boy grumbles, slowly putting his clothes back on.

"Looks like I got your focus, there's a-"

"SHIP!" Their heads up to Zuko on lookout and Blue wonders if the cosmos was playing a practical joke on her, "Miss Tetra, there's a ship coming straight for us!"

They all turn to see as a large decrepit ship slowly rolls out from the thick fog, tattered sails flapped in the breeze as it cuts through the water. Everyone falls quiet as silence is filled by the sounds of old wood creaking and the rattle of rusty chains. There a strong rotten scent, enough to make their eyes water, though Blue luckily couldn't smell it. However, she feels almost sick as cold fear coils tightly in her stomach. There was something almost foul about the ship that she couldn't quite put a finger on but her instincts were screaming at her to run away. Since Blue was (for lack of a better term) a lost soul, she was more intune with the feeling that people and places and objects gave off. The feeling that was rolling off the Ghost Ship was as if someone poured cold tar on her, it was thick and stuck to her skin uncomfortably as it burned.

If she didn't know any better, it also felt like someone was watching them...

Blue tries to distance herself but instead, she's pulled closer towards it as Link heads toward the ship, "Idiot! Don't go near that thing!" Thankfully, the kid was in a state of right mind not to try and board the mysterious vessel, instead frowning in it's direction as they silently watch it's slow approach.

"Wait here and I'll go investigate the ship!" Tetra says with gusto as she begins to make her way through her crew, much to their protest, "Oh relax, will ya? Nothing's gonna happen cause that's not a damn Ghost Ship!"

"I think I should tag along though." Blue disagrees with Link because if he went, that mean's she'd have to go and that's the last thing she wants to do, "I've got a really bad feeling..."

"Oh, not you too." Tetra eyes rolls as she places her hands on her hips, seeming to be the only one not affected by whatever freakish hell everyone else was seeing, "Look, you're staying here, on the ship and that's that!"

"But-!"

"Captain's orders~!" Before the Captain quickly boards the ship, leaving Link to call out for her from the deck.

Blue floats closer to the boy, hands still in her pocket but clenched her hands tightly into fists, "We need her off that ship now. I'm serious, there's something really off with that thing."

"I know that!" He glowers, keeping an eye on Tetra as she wanders the deck, "But what am I suppose to do? She's not listening to me!" He was frustrated and rightfully so. As strong as a combatant and a leader Tetra was, the girl was just as foolishly stubborn. When it came to her own safety, it mattered very little to her which always left the rest of the crew desperately trying to reason with her. And it seemed this was one of those times as Blue felt time slowly slipping away, an impending doom about to rain down on them at any moment. Gritting her teeth, Blue sucks up her courage and begins to also head towards the ship, "Hey, wait a-"

"Don't try and follow me, I'm getting her off that damn ship, even if I have to-." Blue snaps back but before she was even halfway there, the fog suddenly thickens as a scream rings out in the chilly air, "Oh no..."

"Tetra! Miss Tetra!"

Link immediately springs into action, running to leap for the ship, much to Blue's dismay, "Link, don't!"

"I'm not letting whatever's on there hurt her!"

_Dammit kid, now is not the time for bravado!_

But the Ghost Ship seems to faze into the fog and Link's grip on the ship was no more. Blue calls out for his name as they're both dragged into the murky depths below, Link thrashing against the strong waves and Blue left unable to coordinate herself to float out of the water. This is one of the few times she curses herself for being tied down to the kid, feeling him beginning to dip below the surface of the ocean as he desperately tries to get to his friend, "Tetra! Tetra, wait-!"

Sounds were becoming distant as they sank further and further into the sea, Blue could feel Link's conscious fade and there wasn't much she could do to help him or Tetra. As she looks back over to the ship through a watery lens, her eyes widen as she swears she could see long black tentacles rise up and encase themselves around Tetra with the poor girl reaching out and calling out for help. Blue feels panic set in as the ship disappears from sight, leaving not only Tetra but themselves separated from the rest of the crew.

All she could do now was let the ocean guide them to hopefully the safety of land and that Link made it there alive.

* * *

**Okay so yeah I have a problem with starting multiple stories but seriously, I can't help this one.**

**It all started a few weeks ago when I decided to read the Phantom Hourglass manga because I've always heard about the game but I've never played it. I was curious so, considering I already had some of the other mangas and I loved those, I thought I would read PH. I never expected to have it be my absolutely favourite story out of all the mangas and I honestly have no idea why I love it as much as I do.**

**It only became my favorite even more when I finished watching Chugga's let's play of Phantom Hourglass, being able to see the story of the game as well.**

**It sparked the desire to write a story of it, combining the elements of the manga with the game as well as adding a twist to it by introducing another character to the story. Now, because this takes place after the events of Wind Waker, and I don't have the material or drive to do a prequel story to this, some things might either seem a bit messy which I'll apologize for. If you want to know more about Blue's character, thing's will be shown as the story goes on but for those who want a gist of what she is (without any spoilers and what would be known if a prequel would be written), continue with this Author's Note to learn more. Feel free to skip this if you just want to know through the story itself.**

_Blue is wandering soul without memory of what she was, waking up on Outset Island 8 years ago and found by Link. She hasn't aged a day since they've met, currently appearing to be around Link/Tetra's current age, generally described by the two as "a bit strange". The hooded jacket she wears is a dark purple color with a dark blue pocket in the front, long enough to look like she's wearing a dress. There's a floppy dark blue hat that sits on top a head of short blond hair, her pale skin and dark gray eyes unnerves Tetra and Link because it looks like she really is dead._

_Blue can be described as pretty neutral, never really getting angry or upset often but will be very upfront with her thoughts, especially if the situation is serious, which can make her come across as rude. That being said, Blue prefers to be lazy, enjoying the rare moments of peace and quiet when she can._

_Blue has the ability to possess things. However, how long she can do that and what she can do depends on whether it's a person or an inanimate object. If the object can move, she can move it (so wheels, hinges, and flaps she can move but a statue would stay stationary). A person is much harder to possess and the only things she can do is temporarily stun them for a few seconds and interact with their "soul" (literally, it's just her talking to them, nothing special). However, if that person is unconscious, then she is able to control their body for a brief moment. This will leave whoever is possessed to feel a headache after waking up. Possessing living things takes up a lot of energy for her though and so, she has to be careful with when and how long she does it for. If too much energy is used, she blacks out for a while (the amount of time varies with how long/much she does it). She'll look awake but simply wordlessly float behind Link until she wakes up._

_There are only 3 people who have been able to see and hear her which are Link, Tetra, and Ganondorf (the King of Red Lions was only able to hear her)._

**I know there aren't a lot of PH stories out there but I hope you enjoy this one.**

**EDIT: Some minor additions and changes to the chapter**

**KB**


	2. Chapter 1

_"We all have our parts we must play..."_

_"But this isn't the role you need to take."_

_"That might be true...but who else is going to?"_

* * *

**~.: Chapter One :.~**

* * *

The warm sun was the first thing he noticed as he slowly came to.

Link vaguely remembers how harsh the rays felt back at home, how his skin would feel sore as he stumbled home after a long afternoon soaking in the light. This felt different, it was more soft and gentle, like he was bundled in his favorite blanket on a cold rainy day. He dug his fingers into course sand, the hot dry scent mingled with the salty breeze as his ears picked up the rustle of leaves from trees nearby. Occasionally, a spray of water splashed his way and the cool drops would make his nose wrinkle. It all felt soothing, nearly lulling him back into the depth of his conscious if it weren't for the distant sounds of two voices bickering from above his head. It honestly would almost be relaxing if the dull ache that throbbed against his temples wasn't there, his mind struggling to remember what happened and to think about where he was now.

The Hero knew he wasn't home, as much as his memories were trying to convince him, images filtering in and out as comprehension drifted just out of reach. He felt so confused and that worried him, past experience telling him that it was because something bad happened. He hoped Blue was okay, even if there wasn't much that could actually harm her. The girl easily hid her thoughts behind a cool mask of indifference but having know her for so long now, he could tell what truthfully she was thinking. Link supposes that's one of the reasons she trusts him so much, having someone who knows how you feel without you having to say so.

Link dimly wonders where he had been before waking up, recalling the sounds of dolphins playing in the sea.

The soft groan finally silences the voices and Link could feel them watching him closely with earnest relief, "Link? Hey, Link, wake up!"

"...Blue?" It's rare to hear her so worried or to even use his name, he's so use to her monotonous drawl that edged on near amusement or irritation that anything above that came to him as a bit of a shock. It's not often her voice was heavy with worry and he feels a pang of guilt for being the cause of it again, "Blue, where...?"

"Oh, you're awake!" His vision is filled with the sights of sand and the shores that stretched off into the distance, Link finally noticing that he's laying on his side. The new voice he hears was a stark contrasts to Blues, light and cheery and very emotional. Something was whizzing around in circles above his head that reminded him of a wind chime, hearing the pleasant bell-like sounds.

"Just go away already, give him some space..."

"I-I don't even know where _you_ are!"

"Stop...arguing..." Their bickering was only making his headache worse, an uneasy feeling knots in his stomach as he pushes himself up and holds onto his head, taking a deep breath in and instantly feeling his nerves calm. When Link opens his eyes, he sees his friend floating near him with a slight frown adorning her face, her eyes mirroring the same. He tries to reassure her that he's fine, giving the girl a grin despite a cold wash of nausea washing over him. It only eases Blue up a little but of course, whatever happened to them was still putting her on edge. Link finally takes a moment to look over to what was making the chiming sounds above him and notices a small white fairy, "Oh, who are you?"

"Thank goodness you're awake!" Yep, that was definitely where the new voice was coming from, "I'm Ciela the Fairy! It's nice to meet you. What happened though?" The fairy flutters to hover in front of Link's face as the boy squints for a closer look at her. His headache must be playing tricks on him because he thinks he sees _something_ within the light but it's too bright for him to see clearly, her four small wings were a translucent white and almost glittered in the sun, "Who are you?"

"You sure ask a lot of questions to someone who just woke up from almost drowning." Drawled Blue, her arms folded as she settles a look at the fairy who turns to look around to see where the voice was coming from. Link was mildly surprised that Ciela was able to hear Blue at all. Could she not see her though? It was strange that they've found yet another person who could only hear the wandering soul. Maybe it was because it was a fairy? It was hard to say at this point, it only added onto the ever growing stake of questions.

But definitely wasn't something they should be concerned with right now.

"What? There it is again! Who's talking?"

"Dammit, you can hear me but not see me? That's so stupid..." Grey eyes rolls slightly, "My name is Blue, this is Link. Do you know where we are?"

"Oh um," Ciela still seemed uncomfortable at the idea of someone being there but being unable to see them, her soft white glow dimming a bit as she hovers closer towards the ground, "This is Mercay Island."

"Mercay Island?" Link doesn't recognize the name, he doesn't remember seeing any islands with that name on the map they had. Heck, he doesn't even remember seeing any islands nearby when they had been-

And all of a sudden, it hits him like a hammer and he understands now why he feels such a cold dread.

"Wait! Where's the Ghost Ship?!" Link's immediately stumbles onto his feet, wildly looking around as he rushes towards the edge of the water. He doesn't see any ships or any islands, just the vast expanse of blue sea that stretches on for miles. His memories suddenly come to him in a rush of images and sounds, from the sight of the dolphins playfully leaping out of the waters to the icy plunge into the sea as his fingers slip from the rotten railings of the Ghost Ship.

And Tetra, her cries for help as he sunk lower and lower into the murky depths.

Blue frowns at Link, "It's not out there, Link. I don't really remember what happened because I had to take you to safety (which explains why he had such a headache, the strange side effect whenever Blue had to possess him) but I can tell you for certain that the ship is no where near us anymore."

"Tetra..." His shoulders slump slightly in defeat, "This is bad, we have to rescue her!"

"But how are we gonna find that Ghost Ship again?"

"Ghost Ship?" Blue and Link look over to Ciela, having forgotten the little fairy was there, "You mean the one related to the recent rumors? They say those taken are never seen again..." She sounds almost apologetic but the fact she knew what they were talking about meant something to them. Link turns toward the fairy, feeling his determination burn within his chest.

"The Ghost Ship, you know about it?"

"Well, no, n-not really..." Ciela mumbles a bit, wings dropping slightly before a thought suddenly comes to mind, perking back up just as quickly, "But I know someone who might! My Grandpa!"

"Your Grandpa?" Link and Blue echo their thoughts out in unison, looking at each other quizzically. Ciela flutters off to a pathway nearby, Link quickly following with Blue trailing behind, "Who's your Grandpa?"

"Well, he's not really my Grandpa but I think of him like that anyways!" She sounds so happy talking about him, full of pride in whoever this person was, having a lot pf respect and love for them, "He actually found me when I woke up on the beach, I don't actually remember anything besides my name. He's been taking care of me ever since."

Link immediately looks over to Blue who's situation was pretty much the same, waking up on a beach with no memory of who she was. Even after everything they've been through, they still had no idea who or what Blue had been before that. She claims she's not dead yet was unsure how she knew that. If it hadn't been for Link's persistent attitude when he had been young and even giving her a name for childish reasons, Blue probably would've been doomed to wander the world all on her own.

Something he knew she would never want to do considering Blue doesn't like the feeling of being alone.

"Interesting..." Was all she said to Ciela but Link could tell the similarity of their situations struck a cord with her, probably sympathizing with the little fairy.

"What about you, huh?" Ciela hovers near Link again, "I take it you can hear the voice too?"

"Yeah, I can see and hear her. No one else really knows she's there which...kinda makes it strange you can hear her at all." The boy frowns, "Just make sure you don't tell anyone though, it's really hard to explain."

"Wow, you can see who's talking?"

"Hey, I'm right bloody well here!"

As they walked along the path on Mercay Island, towards the small harbour town on the edge of the shores, Link explains a little more about himself and of Blue. He didn't Ciela too much, it wasn't necessary to reveal every detail about what's happened to them before arriving on the island but it was just enough to give her a good idea about why saving Tetra was very important to them. She was their friend and right now, she was in trouble. If there was someone who knew about the Ghost Ship then it was urgent they spoke with them. Ciela thankfully understood and reassured them that she'd try her best to help them out.

Her grandpa's hut was outside of town, across the bridge near a waterfall. The town itself was small, partly nestled on the slope of large hill but mostly spread out among the wide streets. For a place that didn't have very many places, there were a lot of people though most of them were at the port-side. Various different kinds of ships were docked at the harbour, either near the shipyard for repairs or left to bob in the water as sailors went to restock on supplies. Link couldn't help but to look over a few of them as they passed by, impressed with many of the ones he saw, including a small ship that had a horn-like bow. He briefly wondered who owned it.

"Hey, pick up the pace, kid!"

"Right, sorry!" Link calls out to Blue as he hurries along to catch up with them.

It didn't take too long to reach the hut, away from the hustle of the town and within the serene calm of nature. It was a cozy little hut, a small wooden fence bordered the parameter around the home with a stone pathway leading up to the steps. On the steps was a small old man holding what Link would more accurately describe as a shell attached to a stick, sitting in the peaceful calm of the day. The man seemed very kind, his droopy eyes lightly up a bit as he spots Ciela heading his way, some hair on top of his head pulled up into a tail resembling a fish. His eyebrows almost blended in with his hair and his long white beard and moustache covered almost half his face, "Grandpa Oshus!"

His voice was warm and welcoming, "Ah, Ciela. I was wondering where you ran off to. You missed the ending of the story."

The fairy titters, fluttering quicker over to him to nuzzle into his cheek, "I'm sorry, I just wanted to wander the beach. I met uh, someone there!"

The old man looks over to Link as Ciela hovers nearby, Blue floating next to her but judging by the way the old man was not looking her way, he had yet to notice her at all, "I can see that. What brings you here then, young one?"

Link steps up, a troubled expression settling on his face, "My friend is in trouble and we got separated from our crew. We were told you know might know about the Ghost Ship..."

Oshus strokes his beard as he hums in thought, "I see, your friend was taken by the Ghost Ship then..." A breeze sweeps through, swaying the tail on top of his head as Link awaits quietly for his answer, Blue watching with a neutral expression. Even if he couldn't see her, she didn't want to find out if Oshus could hear her or not as well. It's not that if she thought he would do anything to harm them but their focus was on something a bit more important right now, "I understand your desire to save your friend but it would probably be best if you gave up now..."

"What?!"

"Grandpa!"

"But why?" Link was angry at the very idea of just leaving Tetra doomed to be trapped on the ship. They've been through a lot together, it didn't seem right just to give up on her when she really needed him. He would never abandon a friend, no matter what, "I don't care how scary or dangerous this stupid Ghost Ship is! I've sailed the ocean and defeated powerful monsters, the Ghost Ship isn't gonna scare me." Oshus's eyebrow raises slightly as he listens, the kid had more courage in him than most people did and it was definitely showing right now, "I'm the Hero of the Winds, Link, and I'll show you that I _can_ save Tetra!"

A heavy silence fell among everyone, Ciela flutters nervously as she looks between both Link and her grandpa. It came to everyone's surprise when the old man sighs softly and pushes himself up from the steps, placing his free hand to rest on his lower back, "Troublesome child..." He tutters as his head shakes, but Link grins at him nonetheless. Blue had to admit, she felt proud that no matter how bad a situation got, Link could tackle issues head on with more bravado than she could imagine. Blue couldn't say for sure what she'd do if put in the same place, but she would like to imagine she had it in her to do the same. Oshus continues, "A few days ago, a sailor named Linebeck arrived asking about the same ship. I believe he went into town, he should still be there. He's sailed across every sea and should know more about the Ghost Ship."

Seeing that the conversation had turned around for the better, Ciela perks up and flutters over to Link, "Oh, he's been here before too, right? I'm sure I'll be able to recognize his face!"

Blue smiles a bit, "That mean's you can come and point him out for us!"

"Then let's go find him and hope he's still in town!" The mood picks up as the three of them head off back to town, leaving the old man to watch them depart from his steps. As he watches them leave, Oshus strokes at his bread again in thought. This was certainly going to be interesting and he hopes they were all ready for what was to come.

"When the time comes...I hope you're prepared, young one..."

* * *

"Okay so, if I were a sailor looking for a spooky ship, where would I go?" Blue ponders out loud as they made their way to town. Link questions the same as everyone brainstorms where to go next, even Ceila hums in thought.

"The docks maybe?" Link shakes his head, he doesn't think Linebeck would hang out near the docks if he wanted to find out about the Ghost Ship. There didn't seem to be very many people there when they went through earlier, most people there seemed to be busy with other tasks at either the shops or the shipyard. He thinks that maybe one of the local shops would be a good idea but there wouldn't be anyone there to really give them much information.

"Wait, is there a tavern or something in town?"

"Yeah, there is, it's called the Milk Bar!" Ciela explains, "There's usually lots of people there who come from off the island, travellers and sailors alike."

Link smiles, "Then that's the perfect place to look for him! Excellent!"

"Hey, Ciela?" Blue hovers over to her despite the fact the fairy couldn't see her, "Do you know much about this Lineback guy besides what he looks like?"

"Its Line_beck_ and no, not really. I've heard things about him but not a whole lot, just that he's a relatively well known sailor who looks for treasure." That puts a bit of a frown on Blue's face and Link is unsure why, maybe because that wasn't much to go off of, "To be honest, I don't exactly like the guy. He's very disrespectful to Grandpa!"

"How so?"

"Well he came to visit Grandpa a few days ago to ask about the ship and just kept calling him an old man, even though I told him what his name was." The little ball of light fumes at that, little white wings fluttering a bit more violently in her frustration, "He's so rude!"

"Yeah well, we just need him to tell us what he knows about the Ghost Ship." Link quickly interrupts, "So just hurry up and find him before he leaves."

"No problem!"

As soon as they reached town, Ciela takes them to the Milk Bar which wasn't too far from the docks, sitting up the hill nearby. It was a fairly large building with a tiled roof and a simple sign hanging on the front. The place didn't seem too busy at the moment, only a handful of patriots were sitting at the tables and enjoying some refreshing drinks. It was definitely out of place for Ciela and Link to be there (despite the name of the bar). Blue was actually surprised they even let them inside but no one was paying much attention as Link hurries over to the bar itself, the rosy cheeked bartender polishing off some glasses as he peers over the counter to the boy, "Well hello there, child. What brings you to a place like this?"

Link clambers up onto one of the bar stools to see over the counter, having to sit on his legs to boost himself up. Despite being at the age of twelve, he was still quite short for his age. Blue would often tease him when he was younger for being so short which always riled him up, even when he grew to be taller than her. Now she would simply bring up the fact his sister had been taller than him by his age (they were three years apart if she remembers correctly) and it would work all the same. Actually, now that she thought of it, Link would be turning thirteen soon which meant Aryll would be ten.

_Oh my, how the little ones have grown!_

But despite his cute face and short stature, people still seemed to understand when to take the boy seriously, "I'm looking for a sailor named Linebeck, has he been here?"

"Linebeck you say?" A couple of heads turn at the name but no one bothered to say anything to them about that, simply going back to their drinks and voices kept in low murmurs, "You mean the one looking for the Ghost Ship? You shouldn't be looking for trouble, young man, it's best if you left that man be."

He slams a fist on the table, getting really tired of people telling him to give up, "I didn't come here for advice, just tell me where he is!"

"If you're looking for Linebeck..." Came an old voice next to them, Blue and Link turning over to see a balding man they hadn't noticed before sitting in a chair near the bar, heavy bags under his eyes yet a kind smile creased the wrinkles around his cheeks. He held onto his cane with knobby hands as he turns towards the boy and the bartender scoffs, turning back to his glasses, "He left for the _Temple of the Ocean King_ a few days ago, that crazy fool." It seemed to fit the timeline and with no word of him leaving, it must mean that he was still over at the temple.

There was hope yet!

Link tilts his head a little, curious, "The Temple of the Ocean King?"

The old man nods, moving to reach for a bag sitting next to his seat and pulls out a pen and paper, "The temple was built in his honour. Once, he would visit the people of this island but now the place has fallen into ruin. If you are to enter in there, a cruse will fall upon you that sucks away your very soul. No one goes there nowadays in fear of the curse."

"Well that doesn't sound good..." Blue mumbles with a slight frown, wondering if entering that kind of place would end up affecting her. The only time she was affected by anything was when it involved magic or if she was possessing something. Not only was her energy drained but any damage done would still hurt her, magic also affected her even without possessing anything. So while there were less risks for her, Blue still had to be careful less she blacks out.

But whether or not the temple affected her, they still needed answers and the only person (hopefully) capable of doing that was within the temple.

The old man sketches out a rough map of the island, marking down where they currently were and where the Temple of the Ocean King was. Link leans over to watch him draw everything out, quietly studying the map as he does, "You think there might be an answer to the Ghost Ship in the temple?"

The old man shrugs a bit, "I don't know about that but I do know there are rumors of treasure being buried under the temple and there's a map showing where it is. I betcha that's why Linebeck went there, even if that place is dangerous. Many have gone off in pursue for the treasure but not a single soul has returned. Linebeck?" He huffs a short laugh and shakes his head as Link rolls up the map, "That man would do anything for treasure..."

* * *

"Link, I'm not so sure about this."

"What? Barely anything affects you so what do you have to worry about?"

Blue shoots the boy a look before turning her attention back to the temple in front of them, a familiar chill runs through her as she folds her arms and scowls at the building, "It's not the temple I've got a problem with..."

The better part of the day was spent travelling to the Temple of the Ocean King which rested at the highest point of the island, northwest from the town. It took hours to reach the top of the island, they had luckily not run into anything that gave them too much trouble thanks to Ciela's helpful guidance of Mercay Island. By the time they reached the decrepit temple, the sun was already beginning to set, lighting the sky ablaze in colors of red and yellow. As they journeyed, Link and Ciela spoke amongst themselves, the fairy still uncomfortable with Blue which left the soul trialling behind them and left to her thoughts. It gave her a chance to really think about their situation and her concerns for Tetra only grew. They could still look for clues about the Ocean King at the same time but right now, Tetra's situation was more important to Blue than recovering her old memories.

And Blue wanted nothing to be in their way of that...

The temple itself seemed smaller on the outside, the wide entrance had a decorative boarder which was crumbling from years of being neglected and eroded by the salty sea winds. The roof seemed to bend slightly in the middle, crackles and missing chips of stone along the columns made it look like the building could fall at any moment. From where they stood at the entrance, the humid flow of air smelt strong with a wet musty tang. Ciela shivers and flutters closer to Link, "Geez, this place looks so creepy..."

"This is the Temple of the Ocean King?" Link questions as he enters first, immediately spotting a pile of bones that seemed to have been once a person trying to crawl to safety. Blue senses a presences among the bones, filled with pain and sorrow as they yearned to be free from their endless torment. Ciela shrieks as Link decides to take a closer look, stepping closer and tilting his head as he studies them, "I wonder if these belonged to someone who got their life sucked away..."

"I think so, I can practically hear them moaning about it."

"Huh? You can hear what they're saying?" Ciela tries to looks over to where she could hear Blue, the girl stuffing her hands into her pockets with a small shrug.

"Eh, more or less. It's more like a whisper but I can hear what their soul is saying." It was a nifty little trick that's helped them a number of times, Blue figures that its because she's able to talk to someone's soul when she's possessing them and ghosts are usually souls that have yet to move on into the afterlife. Because the soul was outside the body, she didn't need to be inside them to know what they're saying, but makes it a little more difficult for her to actually hear them, "They're saying that if we go any further...our lives will be drained."

That only makes the little shriek with terror, demanding that the skeleton stop talking because it's dead.

But the piles of dead bones didn't seem to be the only thing held within the empty halls of the temple, Link perks up as a voice catches his ear and strains to hear what they're saying, "Wait, do you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Blue asks, floating a bit further into the temple. There was someone else besides themselves located somewhere deep in the temple, trying to get their attention. It was coming from the only hallway currently visible that lead to the lower level of the temple, a mossy staircase leading down. As they went further inside, the voice slowly became more clear and they could hear the calls for help coming from someone who definitely wasn't a ghost this time, "Wait, someone's actually _alive_ down here?"

"It's another person!" Link hurries a little more quickly down the steps, coming to a large room with a small sectioned off area in the middle, long metal spikes coming up out of the ground from the only places to enter in the area. In middle was a man with tired eyes and a long blue coat, stuck in behind the spikes and waving his arms frantically to get their attention, "Who's that?"

"Oi, kid!" He calls out, a bit breathless from yelling, "You came at a good time, I need your help to get out of this trap!" There didn't seem to be much wiggle room for him, with only enough floor space to sit and the spikes where too close together for him to just squeeze through. Blue isn't quite sure how long the guy has been stuck down below the temple but if the heavy bags under his eyes were any indication, it's definitely been a while.

She almost feels bad for him.

"Are you Linebeck?" Link questions, taking a step towards him but remains standing on the last step, "If you are then we can help you out."

He seems confused as he blinks at him, "And what if I'm not? You're not gonna help me?" He sounds at a disbelief that the kid would just leave him trapped in a soul sucking temple, surely he wouldn't be that-

"Exactly."

"What?!"

"Link..." Ciela pipes up, "I hate to tell you this but...that's the guy you're looking for."

The man sits down with a huff, arms folding as his eyes shift between Ciela and Link, "The pipsqueak is right, I _am_ Linebeck. What's a kid like you looking for me?"

Blue decides to scout the area ahead of time while Link spoke with the old sailor. She's already decided she isn't trusting this guy, he's a very shady character if the tone about him thus far said anything. All they needed from him were any clues about where the Ghost Ship might be now, that's all. After that, they could be on their merry way without (hopefully) anymore trouble.

Link steps onto the purple tilted floor, eyeing the gray stones in front of him before looking back at the sulking sailor, "We heard you might know something about the Ghost Ship."

"Ho ho, the Ghost Ship, you say?" He grins, one hand now resting on his knee whilst the other rubbed at his breaded chin, "So you're after it too, eh? Well you're in luck because there's a treasure here that is said to be clue to the Ghost Ship!" He frowns a bit after, "Which is what I came down here for until I got stuck in this damn trap. You wanna know where it can be found?" Link was already eagerly listening, his full attention to Linebeck.

"You gotta tell me!" The kid pleads and Ciela sighs, she's starting to get a bad feeling about all this. But still, if it got them what they were looking for then it shouldn't matter too much.

"I'll tell you but first, you gotta get me out of here! As you can see, I'm in a bit of a pickle, I even sprained my poor ankle!" As if to emphasize the point, he clutches at his right ankle and winces as though he were in pain. It seemed fine earlier when he had been standing on it when they first entered the room though, "Please, you gotta help me!"

With a solid nod, Link begins to step into the room, or at least that had been the plan before Blue suddenly appears out of nowhere to hover slightly above and startles him, "Idiot, don't just charge off into a room! There could be more traps laying about." She scolds him, scowling down at him and she places her hands on her hips, "Let me see if I can-"

"Wah, wh-who's there?!" Linebeck looks around wildly, face paling as he looks for the source of the voice, "I-It's ghosts, isn't it?"

"What the-?"

"How?" Blue looks bewildered. At least with Ciela, she could possible understand why the little fairy could hear her. Link and Tetra's reasons were even more obvious. But this guy? He could hear her? That's impossible! So the soul drifts on over to where the cowering man was, floating right in front of him to give him a flat look, "...Hey, can you hear me?" The jump he made was all the confirmation she needed to know that, yes, he could definitely hear her, "How in the name of Din can you hear me? That's not fair!"

"Who's talking?!"

"Ugh, we don't have time for this!" Link could deal with that later, the clue to the Ghost Ship was more important right now and he really didn't feel like explaining to Linebeck about the lost soul following him around. As soon as he steps out off the purple tiles and onto the plain stone floor, his body felt heavy and weak. His limbs were like jello as he moved sluggishly through the room, already feeling a bit breathless as though he had been running for miles. Blue stops her prodding for questions as she glides over to where Link was, a look of concern swimming in her eyes, "I feel tired..."

"I told you to wait." It seemed the rumors about the temple were true and weren't just tall tales, the place really does suck the life from people. But it's strange, how come he was fine before stepping foot on the floor?

"H-Hey kid, before I forget!" Linebeck calls from the middle of the room, "Those sections of the floor with the purple tiles, they're safe spaces where your life won't be drained!"

"That would have been nice to know ahead of time!" Ciela fumes at him.

"Well excuse me if there are suddenly gh-ghosts here!"

"I am not a ghost..."

Luckily for Link, the next purple section wasn't too far ahead, stumbling his way over but ultimately trips on a loose tile that sent him tumbling into the area. As soon as Link was safely inside, he felt the draining effects vanish and his strength slowly return to back normal. If the rest of the temple was going to be like that then looking for the treasure might be more difficult than he originally thought. As the boy pulls himself back up to his feet, he hears something click. Looking up to whatever it was he grabbed hold of, Link realizes he accidentally pulled a lever he hadn't noticed before. The spikes that had been keeping Linebeck trapped inside the small space shot back into the floor which stunned the man for all of two seconds.

Before he books it out of the room with a gleeful cheer, "Wahoo, thanks for that, kid!"

"H-Hey, wait!"

"That's it, I'm possessing him."

"Blue, don't do that!"

"What? I'm joking!" There's a moment of silence between them, "...Okay so maybe I'm not this time!"

"Well at least we have the key!" Ciela had gone and picked up a small silver key that must have been dropped by Linebeck when he rushed out the room. How she was able to hold onto the object was a mystery but they decided not to question it right now, "You think this might be for the treasure?"

"I didn't see any other treasures or doors besides the one over there." Blue jerks a thumb over her shoulder to a large stone door across from where they came in, "I guess whoever made this place wanted it to be difficult to try and go any further down the temple."

"Too bad for them then." Link grins as he snatches the key up, "Because that's exactly where we're gonna be heading!"

* * *

**Okay so honestly, I expected this story to have zero stats, at least for a while. But I'm honestly happy to see some people are enjoying this story (even if the beginning might be confusing, sorry about that Llue). As some might be able to tell, the dialogue won't be the same from the manga or the game since the manga is short and I don't have access to the game's dialogue. If I need reference for events, I'll look up gameplay but since I'm adding a twist to this story already, why not make it up as I go (with some help from the manga though).**

**KB**


	3. Chapter 2

_"Long ago as time had passed,_  
_our hero's slumber came to an end._  
_What we need is who we seek,_

_Can we see the light?_

_Stuck in the shadows,_  
_Hear our sorrows,  
__Can you please save us again...?"_

* * *

**~.: Chapter Two :.~**

* * *

"That coward!" Ciela fumes as she lead the way down to the lower level of the temple, acting as their source of light in an otherwise dark stairway, "The next time I see that no good liar, I'm giving him a piece of my mind! There was nothing wrong with his ankle, he tricked us!"

"Oh, you mean the greedy treasure hunter wanted to save his skin?" Blue drawls out from behind everyone, floating lazily down the stairs as her brow pops up mockingly, "How shocking..." Her tone was heavy with sarcasm which only fuelled the fury of the fairy even more.

Link simply rolls his eyes at them as he follows Ciela, keeping a hand on the wall to help guide himself downstairs.

Ever since Linebeck left them, scurrying away quicker than a dog at a race track with no sign of his suppositive "twisted" ankle giving him any trouble, the fairy had been complaining about him the entire time. Sure, they were all unhappy about falling for an obvious trick just to save himself but at least they got a key that might help them with the treasure - and thus, help them save Tetra - so it wasn't a complete waste of time. They might have hit a bit of a dead end with the sailor but hopefully the rest of the temple would be worth their while.

As they reached the floor, Link immediately takes notice of the purple tiles near the door which meant this room would drain his life as well. He takes a moment to look around, not seeing anything yet but there where different paths from the entrance and one of them had to lead to something, "Hm..."

"Watcha' thinking?" Blue asks, moving to float beside him as Ciela flutters a bit beyond the doorway, looking around herself, "I don't sense anything nearby so it should be safe to look around."

"Yeah but," He points to the floor, "I'll have my life drained from me if I just walk around. Does this place not affect you or anything?"

The girl shakes her head and even Ciela seemed unaffected by the room which left him to believe that it was only the floor causing the effect. That still wasn't very good news considering it meant he couldn't move about the space without nearly killing himself. There had to be some way of looking for the treasure without wasting time or energy.

"Oh, why don't Blue and I go look for the treasure!" Ciela suggests, little wings fluttering quickly, "Since we aren't affected by this place, it should be easy for us to scout ahead and come get you when we find the treasure!"

"Hey, that's a brilliant idea!" The boy smiles at her, "And there doesn't seem to be anything else here either so this is going to be a piece of cake."

"I don't know, I feel like you just jinxed us..."

"Oh, stop worrying, Blue. Let's just hurry up and get out of here, I think I've seen enough of this place for a lifetime..."

Begrudgingly, Blue begins to head out with Ciela to look around the temple floor. The fairy took the path to the left as Blue headed off to the right.

The temple was very creepy, crackled and dusty with cobwebs scattered everywhere. Broken jars were scattered here and there, chipped with faded paint and all seemed to be empty. It bothered her a bit, wondering why a temple devoted to a powerful deity was allowed to end up in such a sorry state. There had to be something more going on, right? And then there was Linebeck, Blue was curious about the reason why he was looking for the Ghost Ship as well. They've been told that he's after the treasure said to be on board but she's heard nothing about a treasure before arriving to Mercay. The locals back at the previous island didn't mention anything about it, they only spoke of the rumors about other ships and sea-faring vessels going missing. One would think the rumors of treasure would have been at least briefly spoken of at some point. This whole mystery was bringing up a lot more questions than answers and she intended to get to the bottom of it.

Even so, this whole ordeal was beginning to become a complete hassle with how little help most people have been offering so far, "This is so stupid..." She sighs, stuffing her hands into her pockets.

"_Who_..._goes_..._there_?"

"...Huh?" Blue stops and looks behind her, frowning when she sees nothing there. How strange, she thought for certain she heard a raspy voice, almost like it came from inside a metal box but there wasn't anything made out of metal around her. Blue figured it was just her imagination...or at least until she rounded the corner and instinctively had to ducks out of the way when a sword is swung in her direction, "What the-?!"

"_Intruders_..._are not_..._permitted_!" It was the voice she heard earlier, coming out from the moving suit of armor as it yanked free it's large sword from the wall. Even though she couldn't see anything inside it, Blue still felt like it was watching her. The armor raised it's sword over it's head to swing in a downwards strike, missing Blue as she moves to the side and letting the tip of the weapon sink into the floor. How was it able to see her? Or was it just able to sense her? It's hard to tell but Blue was certain that getting hit by that sword would be a very bad idea. Despite it's chunky appearance, it moved fast and was strong enough to swing it's heavy sword with ease, "_Who_..._are_..._thee_?"

Blue quickly heads down the hall, they still had to find the treasure but the fact there was apparently a guard wandering around made things a bit more difficult than anticipated, "H-Hey, Blue! What's going on?"

"There's this weird armored thing trying to cut me in half!" She answers back to Link, looking behind her to see it giving chase, "I haven't got a clue how it knows I'm here but it's definitely not friendly!"

"Wait, I think I see- yes!" At least Ciela is having better luck than her, "Link, I think I found the treasure!"

"Really?" Link frowns though, he couldn't just leave Blue in danger but without a weapon or even a shield, there's not much he could do to help, "Hang on, I'll be there as quickly as I can! Blue, do you think you can keep it busy for a moment?"

"What do you think I'm doing right now, kid? Playing with it?!"

Link has a funny feeling that Blue might be a bit flustered.

"...Okay then!" With that, the boy quickly sets down the way Ciela went, almost immediately feeling his life being drained from him once more. He could hear the sounds of something large crashing into walls and the clinking of armor as it chased Blue who yelps when it got too close. It wasn't often they ran into things that could harm the ghostly girl since magic was the only way do to that. The fact that this...thing...could apparently sense where she was probably meant it was being controlled by magic but she didn't intend to find out if it's sword could really harm her or not.

Blue zips around the corner before blending into the wall, letting the suit of armor stalk past her hiding spot and disappear down the hall. She waits a moment before fazing out of the wall and looking around, sure that she'd be sweating if she could, "Ugh, that was close. I hate this place..." She soon locates where Ciela and Link were, watching as the two trying to figure out how to open up a small wooden chest, "What's the hold up?"

Link looks up at her in surprise, "Hey, I thought you were-"

"I lost it at the other side of the floor so we have plenty of time before it finds us here." Weird, Blue thought it would have noticed Link or Ciela too, "What are you doing?"

"We're trying to get it open." Ciela hovers above the chest, casting a soft glow so that the boy could see what he was doing, "But we can't, the lock is rusted so the key won't work."

"We should probably take it outside then." Link stands up and brushing the dirt from his pants, "I really don't wanna be down here any longer. We found this and some kind of map too." Blue looks over to spot a rolled up piece of paper sticking out from behind Link's belt, "Besides, I think we should be safe now."

Blue almost flinches at that, the kid really had a way of jinxing the situation when he's trying to be positive.

Link picks up the chest which thankfully wasn't too heavy for the boy, tucking it under his arm as he hurries along to follow Ciela back to the entrance of the floor. As they head down the hall, Blue feels a familiar presence which causes her to pause and glance over her shoulder. Grey eyes widen in disbelief as she sees a suit of armor turn the corner and yes, she completely blames Link for this, "Oh you've got to be kidding me..."

"What are you- ah!" He nearly drops the chest as the guard begins to charge at them, "No, it's gonna catch up to us in no time!"

"W-Why is it moving so fast?!"

"Link, Ciela, I'll stall it for a moment so you two can take that chest outside. Be quick about it though!" Blue turns and quickly glides towards the threat as it begins to raise it's sword. She fazes into the suit of armor just as it catches up to Link, the heavy weapon coming down in a powerful swing.

Just before stopping inches above the boy's head.

Link sighs in relief as his free arm lowers, that had been a close call. Ciela, however, seemed more concerned about what just happened, "I'll explain later but we gotta hurry, we only have a few seconds!"

"A few seconds? Until what?" She turns to see Link already ascending up the steps, quickly fluttering over to catch up with him, "H-hey, wait!"

* * *

Link ran through the soul sucking temple as quickly as he could, Ciela following not too far behind, feeling utter exhausted from the whole experience.

By the time they made it outside, the sun was already dipped far below the surface of the ocean horizon. Link stumbles and trips into the grass, careful not to break the chest safely tucking it under his arm as he takes a moment to catch his breath, "Ha...oh man...made it..."

Ciela flutters over to him, fretting softly over the boy but otherwise, stayed calm, "Are you okay, Link?"

"Yeah, just a bit tired..." It felt amazing to be outside again, the sea breeze was so refreshing and clean compared to the damp humid air of the temple. Thick pink clouds were beginning to gather above as night soon settled upon Mercay Island, leaving the watery image of the blazing sky to reflect in the gentle waves. The dark blues of the night bled into warm tones of red and gold which would've been a beautiful sight to see if either of them had the energy to admire it. Link definitely needed a nap after this, maybe even a bite to eat.

But his mind was too distracted by thoughts of comfort to notice the sounds of someone approaching, Ciela is alert though and turns to see a familiar smug grin that stretched across a rather tired face. "Well done, kid." Chuckles the old sailor as he crouches down in front of the boy, easily slipping the chest out of his hands without much of a fight, "Apologies for the trouble."

"Linebeck!" Ciela fumes, getting up close to the man's face and fluttering her little wings angrily at him, "What's with you? Link went through a lot of trouble getting that chest after you just up and left! And what about your leg? I thought you said you injured it? You dirty lair!"

Linebeck didn't seem bothered by the agitated ball of light, giving her a questioning stare before finally recognizing her, "Oh? You're that old man's fairy, aren't you?" He's quick to grab hold of Ciela, ignoring her protest as he flicks her away from him, "You didn't even help so why are you mad? Shut up and stay out of this, pipsqueak!"

"Ow!" Link stumbles as Ciela bounces off the top of his head as he stands back up, nearly knocking him over.

"How rude!"

Linebeck smirks at them before turning his attention to the chest, turning it over in his hands to inspect it briefly. He noticed how the lock seemed rusted all the way through, flipping the small box over so it faced towards the ground before dropping it. It smashes into the dirt and a satisfying clink tells him the lock has been broken, picking up the now opened treasure with a gleeful grin and eager to open to see what's inside. But what he found inside wasn't what he expected, having hoped for gleaming gold and jewels.

Instead, resting in the red silk lined box, was a sandless hourglass.

Link moves to see what has stunned the sailor, blinking at the strange object, but doesn't have enough time to question it before he's suddenly grabbed by the front of his tunic, "Hey!"

"What kind of joke is this? This is the treasure?!" Linebeck growls, shaking the boy who glares back at him.

"How in heck am I suppose to know?!"

Before anything else could happen, a familiar sense of dread falls upon them as someone clears their throat. Link looks up to see Blue floating just above them and as flat as her expression was, Link could tell Blue was very angry right now, "What, pray tell, are you doing?" Comes the cold toned question which they both jump at, Linebeck quickly releasing Link as the boy shivers.

"Wha- It's that voice again!" His knees are practically shaking as he looks around for the source of the voice.

"Oh uh, hey Blue..."

"You know this voice?!"

"Everyone stop yelling!" Both boys shut their mouths with an audible click as the irritated girl sighs, rubbing her temples, "Look, I'm not a damn ghost so-"

"All I know is that there's a disembodied voice talking right now and I don't like it!" Linebeck shoots back, holding the chest with the hourglass closely, "If you aren't a g-ghost then how come I can't see you?"

Blue stares at Linebeck for a minute before turning to look at Link and ignoring him. The boy could tell she was tired, not nearly as much as him, but definitely enough to be cranky. He kinda feels bad for not being more careful in the temple, she wouldn't of had to possess...whatever that thing was...if he had been more careful. Today's been a long day and right now, they should just get some rest before having to deal with anything else that might come up, "I really don't feel like having to explain all this, do you?"

"No, not really..." He frowns, "Well we got the map, let's just head back into town."

"A map?" Linebeck questioned curiously, eyeing the paper sticking out from behind him.

"It's none of your buisness!" Ciela flutters between him and Link again, keeping the man from trying to take the map as well, "Come on, Link. It's gonna be pretty late by the time we get to town but I bet Grandpa won't mind putting you up for the night!"

That was music to his ears, a nice warm bed and maybe even a decent meal. His stomach growls at the thought of eating some delicious food. It's a shame they couldn't take the hourglass too, it was definitely a curious object but it's doubtful the greedy sailor was gonna give it up, even if he thought it was worthless. The map could hold some clues as to where the Ghost Ship might be but that was a worry for a later time.

Speaking of Linebeck, the man huffs when Link's stomach groans before turning to leave (thankfully a different way than them), "Whatever, I don't need that stupid map. Besides, maybe this treasure from the Temple of the Ocean King might be worth a pretty rupee!"

"Whatever, you greedy old man..." Blue mumbles as she begins to head to the pathway leading back to town. Linebeck flinches at that (he's probably still spooked about her though really, who wouldn't be?) but doesn't comment. Probably for the best, at least he's smart enough to know when it's not time to further annoy something you couldn't see. Who knows what could happen!

So everyone parts ways, tired and hungry, leaving the night to come and the skies to glitter with it's own treasures. All they could focus on was making to back to town for a good nights rest and putting the bizarre experience at the temple behind them.

* * *

The next day, Link awakens to a familiar face hovering right above him, blinking up at the dull grey eyes staring at him blankly, "Huh? Oh hey, Blue..."

"Tsk, you don't jump anymore when I do that. How boring." Though she still sounds amused as Link sits up in the makeshift bed Oshus had graciously offered him when they arrived at his hut late last night, rubbing the sleep from his eyes before lazily kicking off the thick blanket.

The old man had been sitting on the steps when the trio arrived, simply gazing up at the stars and apparently waiting for their return. Ciela told him bits and pieces of what happened, luckily refraining from mentioning Blue but she did tell the old man about Linebeck and how furious she was at the greedy coward. Oshus simply chuckles as Link was ushered in, the poor kid almost tripping over his own feet as he made it into the cozy hut. He didn't question them much as he gave Link some food to scarf down (Blue scolding him gently when the old man went to a different room for not thanking him first before eating), only asking about what he found in the temple.

After the retelling of their adventure and a stomach full of food, it was a matter of seconds before Link fell fast asleep, leaving Blue and Ciela to hang around outside whilst Oshus also called it a night as well.

During the night, Blue explained a little more about who and what she was to the fairy as they both hung around outside. It was mostly out of sympathy, their situations were painfully similar and Ciela really did help them out a lot thus far. Taking them to the temple, keeping them on the right track, helping to find the treasure. Blue appreciated her help a lot.

And Ciela seemed to be taking the fact she was a wandering lost soul very well, which was honestly surprising but nice.

Link was quick to get dressed, slipping on his boots and pulling on his hat. He wished he had his sword and shield, having left them on Tetra's ship along with all his other belongings. He idly wonders how the rest of the crew was doing and realized how much he missed them as well. Link had been so worried about Tetra that the fate of everyone else slipped his mind, "Hm, what should we do now though?" He hums, fixing the sleeves of his tunic as Blue takes a glance out a nearby window.

"Well first off, we need a way off this island. So I guess it's back to town to look for a ship..."

"Yeah, that's true." Link says with a nods just as he hears someone approach the hut. The Hero hurries on over to peek outside the window near the entrance, spotting Oshus and Ciela already out on the steps. What came as a surprise, however, was the sight of Linebeck standing by the fence.

"Huh, wonder what he's doing here?" Blue hums as she joins him by the window. Apparently, the sailor hadn't just up and left in the morning, still carrying the chest currently tucked under his arm and seemingly had gotten in a decent nights sleep. Link thinks back to what the old man in the bar and what he said, that Linebeck left days ago and hadn't returned. It took Link and Blue several hours just to reach the temple, even with Ciela's help, and he had been down in the temple for at least a day or two already by that point. Its a wonder he had bags under his eyes.

Then again, Link has never seen someone well rested and yet still seem tired.

Blue nods to the door before fazing through the wall as Link opens the door, enjoying Linebeck's look of surprise when he steps out to join the others. Ciela fluttering over to him with a happy chime, "Oh, you're awake!"

"Good morning, Ciela! Oshus!"

Linebeck scoffs, holding the chest a little closer to himself again, "I didn't think you'd be here..."

"And I didn't think you'd come here either." The boy shoots back, scowling at him, "Why are even you here?"

"He's here," Oshus interjects before an argument could break out, "Because he has the treasure from the temple."

That surprised them both, turning to look at Oshus who was pushing himself up to his feet, "You mean this old thing?" Linebeck raises a brow in slight disbelief.

"Indeed." The old man nods to the chest, "That _is_ the treasure, the _Phantom Hourglass_..." Linebeck opens the chest again to look at the object, it really didn't look like anything special to him, if maybe a bit old. The bases which held the empty glass were a pleasant blue color, the prongs decoratively curled up in a square shaped spiral. Oshus hobbles to Linebeck who reluctantly hands the hourglass when the old man holds out his hand for it, "You were able to enter and retrieve the treasure from the temple. By returning alive with this, you've proven that you are indeed a hero." He says while turning to Link, "The Temple of the Ocean King has fallen under a cruse, draining the life from those who enter it. But with this hourglass, until the last grain of sand, you'll be able to reach the bottom of the temple without having your life completely drained."

"Until the last grain of sand?" He sounds skeptical as he's handed the object, Blue floating around to take a closer look herself, "It's empty though."

Oshus gives him a nod as he goes to sit back down on the steps, "That's because it's in the possession of monsters located within the temples scattered across the seas. In order to refill the hourglass with sand, you must defeat them." Ah, this was beginning to sound like familiar territory, "Once the sand has been collected, you can return to the temple to lift the curse and obtain the true treasure. More so, this path will ensure the rescue of your friend."

Link wondered how freeing the Temple of the Ocean King from it's curse could lead him to freeing Tetra from the Ghost Ship as well, curious about how the two instances were related. Linebeck seemed more keen on the mentions of treasure, quietly listening from the side, "How do you know so much about this, Oshus?" Questions Link as he frowns slightly. It seemed odd for a random old man to know so much about something seemingly important. He knows from Ciela that he enjoys telling stories to the children from town but all this seemed more than just recounting a tale he's heard.

Blue had to admit that she was confused too, even Ciela questioned why he never told her anything about it. He waves away their curiosity though, resting his walking cane beside him, "When the time comes, I'll tell you but for now, there are more important things to deal with. Now, about that sea chart you have there..."

Link pulls it out and unrolls it, a slight musty smell from being inside a damp room for a long time, "This is a sea chart?"

"Yes and on it are the locations of the temples within the Southwestern Sea. If you can read the map, you'll be able to find what you're looking for."

"Then that settles it!" Everyone apparently forgot that Linebeck was there, he had been so silent up until now. Link seems confused as Blue watches with a flat look as the old sailor clenches a fist to his chest, "To think you're embarking on a dangerous journey to help save your friend. It moves me so!" He firmly places a hand on Link's shoulder, keeping the slightly disturbed boy from backing away, "Don't worry, kid. Just leave the ocean to me! We'll search for that sand!"

Link brushes the hand off with a peeved expression, shooing the old sailor away, "No way! Tch, talk about two-faced..." There was no way they could trust him after he just abandoned them at the temple before taking the chest for himself, "You changed your tune as soon as you heard about the treasure! I'm not going with you!"

Linebeck grins as he leans a bit closer to Link, Blue moving over beside the kid to keep him from doing anything like he had when he first saw the hourglass, "H'oh? And how, might I ask, do you intend to get around?" The boy blinks, looking a bit stumbled for an answer which only made the cheeky grin spread wider, "I take it you have your own boat?"

"Uh n-no..."

"Oh? Then perhaps you have the money to pay for one? And what about someone who can read the charter? Those are quite expensive, you know!"

It was dawning on Link that unfortunately, Linebeck was right. Not only did they have no boat or a way to actually read the map (it wasn't as simple as some of the ones he's found in dungeons and temples on his last adventure), they were without a single rupees to pay someone to help them out. It left Link stumbled on how to answer any of the questions as he stares down at his feet. Out of the corner of his eye, Link catches Blue gesturing for them to talk before moving away from the rest of the group. Knowing he can't draw attention to her, he looks over to Ciela, "Hey, do you mind if we talk about this in private?"

"Huh?" Link vaguely nods to where Blue was which she luckily seems to understand why, "Oh, sure! But you stay out of this, you old creep!"

"Oi!"

Link, Blue, and Ciela turn their backs away from Linebeck to talk amongst themselves. It would've looked strange if he tried to talk to Blue without Ciela there since Linebeck and Oshus couldn't see the girl, even if one of them could hear her (a fact that none of them liked but there wasn't much they could do about that). There were too many questions being left unanswered but as long as they were on Mercay Island, they had no means of uncovering the truth. But even though he was offering his services to them, Linebeck has already shown his colors yesterday.

"Okay so?" Ciela begins, unsure about what to say other than Link should just find someone else to take the two.

"I don't trust him." Link mutters before looking over to Blue, "He's not actually going to help us."

"But he has a point." Frowns the girl who folds her arms and glances over to the sailor watching them, she really didn't like having to admit he was right, "We don't have the time to be picky about help because at this point, any should be a welcome. And by the sounds of it, he'll make it cheap, at least."

"I say leave it, he's just trying to trick you again!" Ciela huffs, "He's just a no good lair and a coward to boot!"

Linebeck cups a hand to his ear, "Oi, oi, don't mar my good reputation." He chides as the three turn to him, "I'm being honest when I said I was touched by you're bravery, ya know. You gotta believe me."

Link takes another look to Blue who shrugs. It was a choice that neither of them were happy with but he knows that if worst came to worst, they could handle the situation if needed, "Alright, you're on!"

"Link, no!" Ciela was shocked as Linebeck cheered.

"Excellent choice, kid!"

"I'm sorry, Ciela, but we can't waste time. I wanna save Tetra as quickly as I can!" He looks back over to the grinning sailor and the unsettling glint in his eyes, "I'll meet you at the docks in a bit. I just need to get something first."

At least the man had the decency not to question what it was, waving it off as he turns to leave, "Alright then, I'll be at the pub until then. Don't be too long now, kid!"

"And my name isn't kid, it's Link!"

But Linebeck is already heading down the hill towards the bridge. Link glares as Oshus gets up to head back inside, seeing that the matter had been settled. Ciela sighs and flies over to the fuming boy, "I've got a bad feeling about him, Link."

"There isn't much of a choice." Blue pipes up once the old man was inside, "We can't just turn our noses up in a time of need. Besides, if he tries anything funny, I'll just possess him."

"Blue!"

"Kidding...sorta."

Link shakes his head. They had some time to gather up supplies for the journey and he's pretty sure he saw someone with a large garden, he could probably offer to help harvest the crops in exchange for some rupees. But there was something more important that they had to get first or else they'd be stuck before they even left the island, "Hey Ciela?" He begins, the fairy turning to him to see what it was, "Do you know where I could get a sword?"

* * *

**February 17th, 2020**

**Hey everyone! I'm updating the chapters (again) because I'm gonna try to dive back into this story. A lot of things have been happening so it's been pretty hard to find the heart to continue to write in general. I don't think I'll ever abandon any of the stories but they will take a long time to complete. If you're willing to put up with the long time inbetween updates then I promise to you I will finish this adventure!**

**Happy Family Day,  
K.B. Maillet**


	4. Chapter 3

_"You've not lost everything just yet...there's still hope..._ _"_

* * *

**~.: Chapter Three :.~**

* * *

Ciela feels a tad awful for doing this but in the end, she's sure her Grandpa wouldn't mind Link borrowing his sword.

She's never used a weapon before, more so for obvious reasons, but she's not one to typically resort to violence. Oh, Ciela's got absolutely no problem giving someone a piece of her mind, despite how harsh and bitter she might sound sometimes. But to go so far as to try and physically hurt someone, she doesn't think she'd ever have it in her to do that. Not to belittle those who have, at least those who had a good reason to do it, but she knows she wouldn't find the courage in herself.

But Ciela was not a fool, she fully understood there'd be the kinds of danger Link would face in his journey where he would need to defend himself and he was going to need a weapon in order to continue on through the harsh world. Blue, on the other hand, seemed to have no problem threatening to "possess" people in order to keep the boy safe.

Blue explained to Ciela what happened back at the temple, how she had possessed the suit of armor to temporarily stun it so that her and Link could escape. She's able to freeze someone for a few minutes or on some rare occasions, have complete control over their body. However, it didn't come without a cost, saying it used up a lot of energy to even just do it once. Blue had to fight against someone's very will and the stronger the will, the harder it was to keep hold of that person. She could also possess objects but unless it had some way to move, there wasn't much of a point. Blue says she's not sure what happens when she blanks out from using too much energy but said Link had explained she'd still able to follow him around, just unable to do anything for a couple of hours.

So, in the end, Blue had to decide if the benefits outweighed the risk every time.

"But to me, as long as the kid is safe, it's well worth..."

It's easy to see why Link worried about his friend as much as he did.

Thankfully, the fairy knew the solution to their situation as she takes them out around back. Near the hut where they lived was a small cave her Grandpa used as storage. There wasn't much he kept in there, mostly some rations for the winter months when trades from overseas slowed and business was scares. But Ciela remembered seeing a wooden chest at the end of the room, a red blanket draped across as if it hide it despite the bright color. She asked about it and which he merely replied that it would come in use later on in life.

Ciela didn't know what he meant by that and, as they enter into the dimly lit cave towards a door on the other side, having thought nothing about it up until now.

"Huh, what a strange lock." Link examines the device with a tilt of his head. The door was thick and solid, made of wooden and iron. There weren't any handles or knobs but instead a complex looking system of channels with a single lever currently resting at the bottom of the furthest right row. It seemed simple enough to figure out but he wasn't foolish enough to think it'd be an easy puzzle to solve, Link wasn't even sure how the mechanics even worked, "Any clues?"

"Nope," Blue simply says before humming in thought, "Let me see if there's something we can even use inside before we waste time with this ." Ciela knew there was, she had seen the simple sword ages ago when her Grandpa went to polish it, but there's no stopping an invisible ghost from fazing on through to the other side of the door. She flutters near Link who watches his friend enter the storage room, waiting to hear back from her before they try figure out the lock, "You're right, Ciela. The sword is still here."

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's in a box." Now all they had to do was find a way inside. Ciela actually wasn't too sure how to get inside because her Grandpa would always have her face away as he unlocked the door. Something mutters in the back of her mind about numbers but she's not paying it much attention.

"Okay so how are we getting inside?" Link asks, studying the lock a bit more, "How does this even work?"

"It slides around," Ciela explains from above him, "It'll make a clicking sound when it's unlocked. You have to move it through the right channels though."

"You uh...wouldn't happen to know what it is, would you?"

Her wings droop a little in disappointment, "Unfortunately no, Grandpa doesn't like too many people going into his storage so he makes me turn around whenever he unlocks the door."

Link smiles up at Ciela nonetheless, "That's okay, I'm sure we can figure it out. Right, Blue?" He looks over near the door and Ciela could almost feel the faint smile coming from the girl.

"Exactly. Besides, I'm sure Linebeck can wait a bit until we get Link the sword."

With all that said, Link approaches the door and grabs hold of the lever, yanking it through the channels he thinks was the correct choices and...nothing, "Darn it." He sets the lever back to where it was before and tries a different route with a different end. Again, nothing happens. It was actually pretty difficult to push the lever, the old and worn out gears making the movement stiff which took a lot of effort to move it around. Blue watches quietly from the side, there's not much for her to do. While she could try to possess the door and figure it out the combination, she didn't want to break the lock by accident by forcing it the wrong way.

After a few more failed attempts, Link was beginning to feel his arms ache, "Guys?"

"There has to be some sort of clue." Blue frowns, pondering a bit, "Like a route he takes or some sort of measurement."

A thought suddenly comes to Ciela's mind, "...What about a number?" Link (and she assumes Blue) look over at her with a questioning stare, "If you look close enough, you can draw out numbers with the channels."

The boy looks back to the lock and tilts his head, seeming to see what she's getting at, "Wait, you're right. I can see an eight and a four."

"Oh yeah, I never thought of that." Blue mumbles, sounding impressed, "But what number would it be?"

"Well," Ciela says as she flutters over back to the exit of the cave, "Grandpa usually takes inspiration from things around him, maybe there's something nearby he used as the password." It at least made sense to her, he was quite crafty with a story and could easily spin a tale using his environment as a form of inspiration. Ciela exits the cave to head outside and see what was there, looking over the surrounding landscape at the scattered trees and a few barrels laying about. Link joins her as well, a thoughtful look as he tries to figure out the puzzle.

"Let's try three." He gestures to the barrels, Ciela seems to think that's a good place to start and so they try moving the lever in a shape of a three and...nothing, "Darn it, I was hoping that's why he had those outside..."

"He stores rainwater in those barrels." The island had a freshwater source located near town but Oshus would have to take almost two hours out of his day just to gather water. Since it rained on the island quite often, he used the water collected in the barrels instead. But if it wasn't the barrels then what could it be? There weren't many things outside to count out too-

"Try seven." Ciela jumps a bit when she hears Blue behind her, not having noticed the girl joined them outside, "There's seven trees around this part of the island."

"I thought you said you couldn't go too far from Link?" Not that the half of the island they were on was big, but that's still quite the range to go.

"And I didn't." Ciela feels something brush past her, sending a shiver through her again, "I can go all the way to the other side of the island if I wanted to, near doesn't necessarily mean right next to him." Oh, well she supposes that made some sense. Link only shrugs, more focused on trying to unlock the door before his arms fell off from the rusty lever system. It was the easiest number to do too, gliding a bit more smoothly though the channels which then clicked into place once it was at the end, "See? Seven is always a lucky number."

"It's open!"

The three of them enter the room which was quite small. A few crates rested here and there, sealed up along with another barrel. A table with an open book rested in front of a map of Mercay Island and Link goes to peak into some jars as Blue floats on over to the chest, "I found some jerky!"

"Hey, don't steal food from him, brat."

"Awe gross, it's squid jerky..."

"Link!"

"I was kidding!" The boy hurries on over to the chest, eyeing where Blue was as he knelt in front of it, "You're no fun..."

"We. Have. A. Job. To. Do!" She stresses, jabbing him through the head with each word and making Link flinch each time, "Remember? As much as I don't like the guy, we can't keep Linebeck waiting too long or he might sail off without us."

Link partly agrees as he opens the chest to reveal a simple short sword with a tan leather wrapped handle and a blue stone placed on the bottom. He picks it up, giving it a few test swings to see how well it was before smiles in satisfaction, "Perfect, this is gonna do just great! I promise to take really good care of it, Ciela."

"I've never seen Grandpa use it but that still makes me happy to hear!"

As they exit out of the storage cave, Ciela feels a sense of sadness settle upon her.

This was it, Link and Blue were leaving the sleepy little island of Mercay which meant she probably won't see them (more accurately, Link) again - or at the least, a very long time. Despite the dangers they've faced in the temple, Ciela had fun and part of her wished she could join them along on their adventure. But she was just a little fairy, it'd be too dangerous for her to leave the island. Besides, her Grandpa would be very worried and she doesn't want to be the cause of that kind of stress. He's done so much for her, after all.

"Come on, Ciela! Let's go to the docks!" Link calls out as he hurries down the pathway, Blue no doubt trailing not too far behind.

As sad as it was, they had something important to do and in the end, Ciela was just glad she had been able to help them at all. At the very least, she could hold onto these new memories and always treasure them.

* * *

When they finally arrived at the port, they were surprised to find both Oshus and Linebeck by the steps leading towards the docks. The two seemed to be talking about something, halting their conversation as soon as the two saw them approaching. Linebeck scoffs as he folds his arms, "About time you showed up, kid!"

Link only scowls back at him before looking over to Oshus, "I hope you don't mind us borrowing your sword..."

The old man gives him a warm smile, chuckling softly as he hobbles over to Link, "No, I do not mind. I was actually planning on lending it to you but I see you've managed to crack the code to my storage. I hope it wasn't too difficult to figure out." Ciela hovers over near Oshus, her pleasant chiming mixing with the calls of the sea, "Actually, I was hoping you could do me a favor, if it's not too much to ask."

The boy is confused and a bit taken aback, wondering what the favor could be, "Uh, sure! What is it?"

Oshus turns to look at Ciela, holding out his hand for the fairy to nestle in his palm. Her glow brightens a bit, happy to be held by someone she really cares for, "Ciela, you've lived on this island for so long. Far too long, in fact, and I think it's time that you head out on your own adventure to recover your memories."

"What?!" Both Ciela and Linebeck exclaim, the little fairy now hovering above his hand, "Grandpa, are...are you sure?"

He gives her one solid nod, "Yes, I am. Accompany Link and I know you'll be able to recover back your old memories. I know you find yourself content with staying on this island but..."

Link steals a glance to Blue, a question coming to his mind if she really had any intentions on getting back her own memories. Sure, they had been looking for the Ocean King in hopes of being able to answer some questions but it just seemed like a second priority to her nowadays. She's spent years with him and has helped him out when he needed it, always by his side as both his travel companion and his friend. A part of Link feels it's somehow his fault for being a distraction to the girl but new if he were to ever tell her that, Blue would most likely get mad at him. They both know they care a lot about each other and neither minded their situation, both utterly grateful for the other's help.

Link and Blue swore years ago that they'd always be there for each other, no matter what happened.

So instead, Link kept quiet as he begins to head over to where Linebeck was, "Don't worry, Oshus. I promise I'll keep Ciela safe!"

Ciela looks between Link and Oshus, seeming torn between finding her memories and leaving the old man behind. But Oshus knows her far too well, placing a hand on his back as he gives her an encouraging smile, "I'll still be here, Ciela. Fret not..."

"I..." She starts to say but pauses, fluttering over to nuzzle the side of his head, "I'll be back, Grandpa, I promise!"

"I know, I'll pray for you all to have a safe adventure."

With that said, Ciela hurries off to where Link was. The boy seemed happy that she was joining them on their adventure but Linebeck was less so thrilled at having another unwanted passenger on his ship. Even more so that it was the old man's chattering fairy which he sighs at, "I guess it could be worse." Linebeck decides before calling over his shoulder, "Let's go, kid! Treasure awaits!"

"My name is Link, not kid!"

"Oh?" The sailor pauses, turning around to smirk down at the boy, "Don't get so cocky, _kid_. When you're on my ship, you'll refer to me as _Captain_ Linebeck! From now until you save that little friend of your's, you'll be my lackey, got it?"

Link immediately feels regret for a lot of things, mostly for letting Linebeck sweet talk them into making a deal with him. Hopefully the journey wouldn't take too long or Blue might actually make good on her threats to possess him.

He could already feel the waves of irritation rolling off the girl as she stalks behind.

Ciela fumes at Linebeck as they follow him down the steps towards the docks, looking at every ship they passed to see which one was his, "I bet your boat is rundown and isn't even sea-worthy!"

Blue can't help but to smirk at the comment, still staying quiet to keep him from knowing she was there.

They finally stopped in front of the strange looking ship they saw yesterday and Link's eyes widen, "Wait, this is your ship? It's so cool!"

Even if he was a massive jerk, Linebeck really did have one of the most interesting ships they've seen. A pair of water wheels were attached to either side of the ship near the back with a crooked smoke stack poking out from the stern. The deck was longer than a normal ship's which made up for the lack of width and gave plenty of floor space, with the front end being higher up. A cabin, which was smaller than what Link expected, sat at the back of the ship with two circular windows on the front and a door in-between. The horn-like structure on the bow of the boat vaguely reminded him of a stag beetle, curving low enough to see over from the steering wheel which sat right behind it.

Link noticed a lack of sails or oars which made him curious how the ship even moved.

Linebeck seemed very proud of his vessel, dramatically flourishing an arm towards it with a proud grin, "This is the _S.S. Linebeck_! One of the very few steam powered ships to sail across the seas." Link didn't know how a ship could run on steam but it sounded pretty cool to him, excited to see how it all worked, "Get on board, kid!"

With a roll of his eyes, Link boards the ship with Blue trailing close behind and Ciela takes one last look at Oshus who waves goodbye. It must be pretty hard for her to part ways with the old man but like he said, Oshus would still be there if she chose to return back home. Once everyone was on the ship, Linebeck heads into the cabin to get started. Soon, plumes of smoke began to billow out of the chimney and the wheels spun to move the ship out of the port. It was surprisingly quick, moving much faster than what Tetra's ship would have in the same amount of time.

From the bow of the ship, Link and Ciela bid their farewells to Oshus as Blue settles behind the two. For a chilling moment, she could have sworn the old man was looking over at her but it must have been a trick in perception. Blue shrugs it off, smiling a bit in his direction nonetheless, "Don't worry, old man, I got their backs..."

* * *

Oshus watched the small ship leave and soon disappear over the horizon of the sea, where not even the puffs of smoke could be seen. He stayed there for a while to stare out into the waters before turning to head towards the path to his hut. Truly, he worried for Ciela. The fairy held a lot of courage within her and that could very well get her into trouble if she wasn't careful. But he's putting a lot of faith in Link to not only lift the curse placed on the temple, but to keep Ciela safe.

And then there was the matter of Linebeck and his intentions in seeking out the Ghost Ship. Oshus knows for a fact the sailor doesn't believe the rumors about the treasure said to be on-board and when they spoke before the children arrived, he had been very tight-lipped about his reasons for seeking out such the dangerous vessel. Even if his intentions were unclear, he's sure that Linebeck won't cause either Link or Ciela harm, even if he could easily bribe the two into doing his bidding.

Children hurry over to him, asking for more tall-tales but he simply tells them he's feeling a bit tired and would give them a story tomorrow, leaving them to whine a bit but he knew they understood. It's not like he was lying, Oshus did feel tired. His energy was not like it use to be and he could feel his strength fading each day, little by little. Oshus hoped he was putting his faith in the right place, that they'd be able to lift the curse before his demise as he hobbled along the dirt path he's grown to know so well.

Though he's left to dimly wonder about the strange wind which seemed to follow the boy and held it's own mysteries which would no doubt be uncovered by the end as well.

* * *

**Edit Note: I accidentally replaced with the wrong chapter so if there was a previous A/N, I don't know what it was, sorry!**

**Also, I've sorta changed the structure of the ship a little so that the steering wheel is in a more logical place. I think it's suppose to be in the cabin but there'd be no way to see out the windows with the cabin being so low. So instead, the horn simply curves up lower than what it does and the wheel is right in front of it (also the ship is bigger than what it might seem like in the game, it has to be able to fit not only him but the compensates of the steam engine which are below deck).**

**Again, it's to make it more realistic because really, how the hell can he sail on that ship without being able to see where he's going? There'll be more twists of logic added in, some really BS'd that definitely isn't mentioned anywhere in game but I wanna explain on the world building a bit.**


	5. Chapter 4

_"I'm sorry..."_

_"There's nothing to be sorry about, not yet at least, not unless you fail your mission."_

_"But...it feels like I already have."_

* * *

**~.: Chapter Four :.~**

* * *

They were cutting through the waves quickly, leaving Mercay Island far behind them and a familiar sense washes over Link who pulls his hat securely onto his head, the tail end kicking up to wave like a flag in the breeze. Excitement and freedom was strong being out on the boundless ocean, where one never knew what to expect and many wonders are left to explore by those brave enough to face the harsh elements.

But with that sense which lifted his spirits, the edge of concern never faded and the knowing purpose of adventure still sat clearly in mind. As he shields his eyes from the glare of the high sun, Link wonders how Tetra was and hoped she was okay, "We've finally set sail on the sea of adventure..." He clenches his hands as her calls for help still rang clearly in his ears, "Just you wait, Tetra. We'll be there to rescue you."

"You know, if I weren't here, your monologuing would be quite worrisome."

Link jumps at the dry tone, having failed to notice Blue currently floating behind him as she stares with her hands resting in her pocket. Even after knowing the girl for most of his life, it's still strange to see how nothing seemed to physically move her. Blue's hat still sat comfortably on top her short blond hair, the hooded purple jacket still resting at her knees. Link felt almost jealous of her, remembering several times he's had to chase his hat around whenever a strong breeze plucked it off his head, "I was not!"

"Then what were you doing just now?" An eyebrow raises every so slightly, both questioning and mocking him, "Because you definitely weren't speaking to me. And Ciela is...uh...somewhere?" The two of them search the deck for their friend, spotting the fairy fluttering by one of the windows by the cabin, "Oh, there she is."

"What is that lazy old Captain up to?" Link grumbles, making his way over to see if he could find out. Linebeck had quickly tucked himself away to his quarters hours ago, snatching the sea charter out of Link's hands as soon as they were fully out at sea and ordered the boy to start cleaning the deck. The boy scowls in the direction of the cleaning supplies still leaning against the side of the cabin, almost offended by it's very existence. It wasn't like there was much of the deck to clean, less than half the size of Tetra's pirate ship. And even if he hated to do chores, Link actually enjoyed Tetra's company which made it worth his while.

But Linebeck? Not so much.

Blue hums in thought as she follows Link to the cabin, briefly glancing to the unoccupied window, "Not sure but I can check if you want. I don't think he knows I'm here though." Link can't help but to agree considering Blue has yet to say a word around Linebeck since the last time back at the Temple of the Ocean King. They still couldn't figure out why such a random stranger could hear her, especially since he had no connection to them. They knew at some point, they had to tell him but it was hard not to think of the possibility of the old sailor ditching them out of fear. Yet the longer they waited, the worse they knew his reaction would be.

And if they had to have Linebeck's cooperation through this journey, they needed there to be at least some trust between them or it'd just make things harder in the end.

"Why are you playing around, kid? Hurry up and swab the deck already!" Speaking of Linebeck, he nearly sends the boy into the waters as he finally emerges from the cabin, tapping the rolled up map on his shoulder with his other hand on his hip as he gives the boy a look of disapproval, "In case you've forgotten, I'm letting you on my ship for free so at the very least, you can help out with a few things until we reach our next location."

Begrudgingly, Link stalks over to grab the mop and bucket, mumbling under his breath, "I feel like I've been in this situation before..."

Blue's lips press into a thin line as she regards everyone quietly, still standing by the door leading into the cabin and folds her arms. She thinks for a moment how to go about letting Linebeck know about the fact she's on his ship before shrugging her shoulders and deciding it's best just to get it over and done with.

"Yeah, it feels like you keep getting yourself into these kind of situations." There's an undignified yelp from the older man and she can't help but to feel amused by the look of shock now etched onto his face as his skin turns a few shades paler. Even though he couldn't see her, Blue gives him a lazy way and an equally lazy greeting, "Hello again."

"It's that damn ghost again!"

Ciela and Link look at each other for a moment before the boy gives the gleeful girl an unimpressed look, "Could you _please_ stop scaring him, Blue?"

"It's funny and I'm bored..."

Unfortunately, Linebeck doesn't seem to find the situation as amusing and turns to glare at Link, wrinkling the chart slightly as he grips it a bit tighter in his fist, "So it's _you_ who brought a ghost onto _my ship_!"

"I keep telling you, I'm not a damn ghost!" Great, now Blue was also getting angry.

Link just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend like none of this was going on.

"It's not like I have much of a choice about where Blue goes. She's attached to me so she can't go far from where I am." Link tries to explain, surprised to find Linebeck was actually listening to him right now, "And she's not actually a ghost because she's not dead, it's hard to explain. Besides, Blue is..." He peers over to the girl, seeing a dirty look pointed his way which makes him sweat under his collar, "Uh...harmless?"

Linebeck appears to mull things over in his head, narrowing his eyes at Link before letting out a long sigh and pinches the bridge of his nose, "Alright then, if she isn't a ghost then what is she? And give me one good reason I shouldn't just kick you off my ship!"

"Because we're offering you free protection while you search for treasure." Blue quickly interjects before Link could say anything, watching as the sailor's back straighten. That seemed to have gotten his attention, "But hey, if you're that worried about harmless (she casts another dirty look to Link) little old me then I'm sure the next ship we board will-"

"I have decided!" Link raises a brow as Linebeck clears his throat, partly surprised that worked but then again, he should have expected it would, "As long as the brat...stays out of trouble...I suppose it wouldn't hurt to keep you around, kid."

"Wow, so generous..." Ciela was less than impressed but at least that matter has been taken care of.

"Zip it, sparkles!"

"What did you call me?!"

"Guys, stop arguing and let's just figure out our next location!"

"I don't know about you guys but I'm having fun right now." That made one of them.

This was going to be a very long journey and Link could already feel a headache coming. Ciela and Linebeck glared at each other for a moment before the sailor stalks off back into his cabin, slamming his door shut behind him and leaving Link to clean up the deck in the meantime. Luckily, the task didn't take too long to complete. The deck was already in pretty good condition to begin with, much like the rest of the ship. As seemingly lazy as he was, Linebeck appeared to treasure his ship and maintained it very well. That was a relief to know since the ocean was a dangerous place and an unworthy sea-vessel would sink in no time not taken care of.

After about an hour of washing and drying the deck, Link practically throws the cleaning supplies as soon as he's finished and slumps onto the floor, "Finally, I'm done..."

"Ah, that usually takes much longer." Blue settles beside him as she looks around, inspecting his handiwork, "By the way, we've been keeping an eye on Linebeck while you were busy."

"Yeah," Ciela joins in lounging around with them, "He's been studying that map for ages!"

"Can he not figure out where we have to go?" He asks, raising a skeptical eyebrow.

Blue only shrugs her shoulders and moves over as Link stands back up, "You might wanna let him know though you're finished, I'm sure he has more chores for you."

"I'm sure he does." Grumbles the boy as they made their way to the cabin.

The room was small though probably not as small as it seemed. The furniture made it a bit crowded - a bed sat against the furthest wall with a table and two chairs near the windows, a set of stands which most likely lead down to below deck was off in the corner of the room. It was plain but it made for a decent place to rest and surprisingly, the room felt much warmer than what Link expected it to be, figuring it was just that warm of a day.

Linebeck's coat currently was hung up on a hook near the door and the man himself sat with his back to the door, still hunched over the map. Either he hadn't noticed them entering the cabin or was simply ignoring them. Either way, at least he wasn't telling them to leave, "Hey Linebeck, I'm done with cleaning the deck."

He hums his acknowledgement, sounding half distracted but still listening, "Hm? Then go and do laundry."

Link takes one look over to the pile of dirty laundry sitting in the corner and is ready to burst, practically seeing the stink lines coming off of them and already feeling his resolve slip at probably his least favourite chore to do. Even Blue frowns at the pile, thanking the Goddesses that she was intangible and thus, had a valid excuse not to do any of _that_ dirty work, "Ugh, that's it! I'm finished with this nonsense!" Link sneers as he throws his hands up in the air, Linebeck finally looking over his shoulder to the boy's outburst, "Why do I have to be worked to the bone for this lazy old man?!"

"I think you know what the reason is so I'm not saying it." Blue explains while the sailor fully turns in his chair to face him, shaking his head and sighing in disappointment.

"It's fine if you don't like it, you can either just get off my ship or pay your fare." He shrugs, despite saying he'd give Link a free ride but Blue figures Linebeck meant he wouldn't charge them money for it, "Although..." The word was dragged out and was enough to give Link a pause from his furious frustration, even Ciela flutters over to see what's going on. Linebeck plays with the end of his moustache as he gives a small cunning smirk, "If you can't even handle this little bit of _training_, perhaps you aren't enough of a hero to save your little friend..."

"Wait! Training!?" Link's weak spot, just saying the words "training" or "challenges" got him fired up. Blue watches with silent amazement as the boy dives into his new task with gusto, slightly impressed and disappointed at the same time, "There's no training that I can't do!"

Linebeck, seemingly quite proud of himself, watches the boy hurry outside with the laundry before turning his attention back to the map.

"I dunno, I feel like we're being taken advantage of..." Ciela was concerned that Link was being taken advantage of again, deciding to flutter on over to the sailor, "Hey, Linebeck?"

"...What is it, pipsqueak?"

And now Ciela was all fired up but for a completely different reason, "Excuse me but my name is _Ciela_! You're just taking it easy while you make Link do all the work! I won't stand for it!" Blue would find it very noble of her that she was sticking up for the well-being of her new found friend but this was someone who already proved himself to be very manipulative against soft-hearts, pressing a hand to her face because she already knew how this was going to play out.

Linebeck tsks under his breath, putting down the map as he turns to regard the angry little fairy, "If it bothers you so much then why not help your friend out instead of complaining?"

He says like it's an easy solution and Ciela pauses, wings lowered as she began to feel timid, "I...I..." She had no come back since it's true, she _wants_ to help Link out but Ciela isn't quite sure how. Arguing with the old sailor was getting her nowhere and in fact, was probably making things worse, "I'm not human though..." She begins but her voice trailing off as he wags a finger at her.

"That's not true! I'm sure you can come up with _something_ that even a little fairy like you could do if you think hard enough!"

"If I didn't know any better, I'd almost say you're trying to be encouraging." Blue accidentally startles Linebeck, something which she actually hadn't meant to do this time, "Opps..."

"You! Oh, you're just going to be a big problem if you keep doing that!" She's beginning to think he wasn't quite fond of her but that might be just her, "You could help out too, ya know!"

"Okay, Ciela, I can understand. But you're stretching it a bit far with me." Blue sends him a flat look, not like he could see it anyways, "I literally cannot physically interact with anything so unless you want me to actually possess-"

"If you could shut up, I'll tell you." He interrupts, turning around to scowl down at the map. She feels a muscle under her eye twitch but shuts her mouth with an audible click, "You can be the lookout and warn us if there's any sea creatures or pirates around. Since no one can see you, we'd have the advantage of an early warning without them knowing."

Blue blinks - once then twice, taken aback despite herself - unable to think of a clever comeback for probably the first time in her life, "Well...I'll be damned."

Even Ciela seemed surprised by the logical explanation him, not expecting Linebeck to come up with a reasonable task. Blue supposes it really shouldn't have come as a surprise. Either for the fact he's a paranoid coward or because he was still an experienced sailor and has been for many years. But that didn't mean she had to accept the fact he knew what he was talking about because Blue still didn't like him in the slightest.

And she doesn't care too much that it sounds like an utterly childish excuse, despite her actual age.

The girl grumbles under her breath as she joins Link outside as he feverishly worked whilst muttering quietly to himself about "not being underestimated by a lazy old man".

_Ciela was right, they were definitely being played..._

* * *

"This is an odd chart, I just don't get it..."

"Don't get what?"

Linebeck flinches when Blue speaks up but by now, he's gotten so use to her floating around that the sudden sound of her voice appearing from nowhere only caused a mild reaction. He doesn't yell at her anymore, not unless she's purposely trying to scare him, but it's clear the old sailor still isn't comfortable with her being on his ship by how tense he always seemed to be.

Blue ignores the idle murmurs of ghost, believing he's merely doing it to piss her off now.

It's currently well into the afternoon of the next day, with the sun high above the world and not a single cloud in sight to provide even the smallest amount of shade. There wasn't much of a breeze either so the day felt even hotter than had yesterday but that didn't stop Link from enjoying the cozy heat as he lounged about out on the deck. Everyone was outside, hanging around the ship which sat stationary for the time being until they had a clue about where to go. Ciela currently rested on top of Link's stomach while the boy laid flat on his back with his arms stretched out. Blue was spending her time spying over Linebeck's shoulder to look at the map while he sat with his back against the wall of his cabin and his coat tossed beside his feet. It was probably better for him to be outside rather than cooped up in an even hotter cabin while he worked, the heat would make it hard to focus.

With a huff, Linebeck flicks the map as if to straighten out the crinkles that weren't actually there as he casted a peeved expression in the direction of her voice, "That old man said the temples would be marked on this but I don't see anything of the sorts."

Blue was sure that Oshus hadn't been lying to them when he explained how vital the map was. In fact, he seemed rather desperate that they break whatever curse that had befallen the temple back on the island. But Linebeck was right, there didn't seem to be single marking to indicate anything on the map. Only the compass direction in the corner and brown splotches meant to be islands.

Link cranes his head to look at the two upside down, frowning lightly at the news, "Have you tried cleaning the map?"

"What?"

"Yeah, it's probably dirty from being left in the temple for who knows how long." Ciela added, still not bothering to get up from her spot.

Linebeck scowls at the two before turning his attention back on the map. While it wasn't the cleanest map he's seen, it didn't seem like it was that dirty either. Still, he decides to humor the idea and began to rub his sleeve on one of the island splotches, "I find it completely ridiculous that you actually believe-"

"What's that?"

He pauses, looking down to see the edge of something now visible under dark flakes coming off the paper. Link gets up to hurry over and swiping up the map. The boy ignores Linebeck's protests as he rubs at the spot some more to reveal a wave-like symbol with two dots on either side of the top and bottom lines.

"Look, it's some kind of marking! I guess it was just hard to see cause the dirt blended too much with the ink."

"Oh yeah, right!" The map is snatched back out of Link's hands and Linebeck chuckles as he rolls it up, leaning it on his shoulder and stands up, "I had just been thinking the same! Though anybody could have thought of that, eh?"

"But you just-!"

"Just drop it, Link." Blue sighs, "Anyways, where is that place?"

"It's the Isle of Ember!" Linebeck plucks his coat off the ground and hurries back into his cabin, "Our course has been decided! Yahoo!"

Blue couldn't help but to laugh a bit with excitement, sharing a look with Link who rolls his eyes at Captain, "Looks like our adventure will truly begin."

"Yeah, I can't wait to see what the island is gonna be like!"

"You guys sure seem like the adventuring type." Ciela joins them as the ship begins to move once more. It's true, Link always had a thirst for adventure since he was young. Blue more so enjoyed his enthusiasm, finding it infectious.

As the ship moved forward, the girl idly wondered how long it was going to take to reach the Isle of Ember. It looked like it was all the way on the other side of the sea. Blue couldn't quite guess the distance based off the map nor did she know which direction it was. Linebeck seemed to understand where they had to go through so they weren't completely directionless and in all honesty, they were lucky he didn't expect any sort of reward for taking them across the sea.

Well, physical labour was one thing but at least it was something they could offer. Link didn't exactly have any other way to pay a fee.

Curious, Blue fazes through the cabin wall just as Linebeck emerges from below deck. She notices the sudden tension in his shoulders as he scans the seemingly empty room for something, "...What do you want?"

"It brothers me you know I'm here despite the fact I haven't said anything yet." She said honestly before settling a troubled frown at him, "Can you see me?"

"No, I can't and I think I prefer it that way."

"But how did you know I was here?"

Instead of answering her question, Linebeck simply huffs and turns to hang his coat up on the hook by his door, "You can't just come in here whenever you want, brat. This is _my _ship and I don't want you to wander about it all willy-nilly!"

"What's downstairs?"

"Are you even listening?!"

Blue is beginning to realize it's pretty easy to rile him up, "Yes, I am." She keeps her tone neutral despite the slight smile forming on her face, "Actually, I'm just here to ask if you know how long it'll be until we reach the island."

When Linebeck doesn't say anything - hands still on his coat and seemingly started staring at the wall - Blue figured he was ignoring her now and guessed her fun was over. She begins to leave the cabin but stops when he speaks up suddenly, "It's about a week, if the weather is good. The island is due South from where we currently are."

They seem to forget that despite all the boastful words and trickery, Linebeck was still a sailor who can navigate his ship and knew exactly how to get where he needed to go. Blue and Link haven't been out at sea for as long as Linebeck or Tetra have so there's still plenty of things they didn't know. What seemed like common knowledge to the more seasoned sea-goers was a completely new experience to both them and if left to their own devices, she knew there'd be no way either of them could survive out at sea.

That still didn't stop the girl from poking fun at the Captain, "Huh, so you actually know where we're going."

His ears were beginning to turn red and she's glad he couldn't see her amused smile. Link was too dense to get her jokes most of the time and Tetra was far too confident to let any of her remarks really bother her. With Linebeck, he seemed to know she was joking but still let her comments get under his skin. It made it the best of both worlds for Blue.

"Just get out of my cabin, brat." The sailor mumbles as he begins heading over to his bed, probably to sleep off most of the journey since there wasn't much to do anyways.

"What? And have you abandon us to be all by your lonesome?"

There was a sudden change in mood that would have silenced the room if it weren't already so quiet. Blue knew at that moment she had said something wrong when his irritation and exasperation slowly shift into something distant, as if he were lost in memory. She didn't know what to say or do since it came as such a surprise. It didn't hang heavy in the air which told her that he hadn't taken it too personally but Blue still felt bad for having stuck a nerve she didn't realize had been there, "What makes you think I'd want any company to begin with? If you're done pestering me, you can leave..."

Blue almost wished he'd at least sound angry because then, this wouldn't be so awkward for her. It felt almost somber and she didn't like it one bit, "Right...I'm sorry..." She mumbles before fazing back through the wall and missing the confused look on Linebeck's face

He turns attention to the vast expanse of sea outside his window as he sits on the bed, thinking about things which he quickly dismissed with a shake of his head, "Troublesome ghost..."

* * *

Link looks over to Blue as she returns back to the deck, smiling at her as she rejoins him and Ciela, "What did he say?"

Blue definitely didn't plan on telling him what just happened in the cabin, not only because it was unnecessary but Blue doubt her little slip up would actually affect Linebeck that much - or at least that's what she'll believe until proven otherwise, the girl still feels bad despite the fact the man was a jerk.

So she shrugs and stuffs her hands into her pocket as per usual, "He said about a week. That's a lot longer than I thought it was going to take, honestly."

"The oceans are really big!" Ciela flutters, glowing brightly, "I'm not surprised it's gonna take that long, I actually didn't think it'd be that soon." Despite having lived on the same island since her memory lost, Ciela seemed to understand how wide the world really was. Growing up near a port-side town where people came from all different walks of life, one is bound to hear enough tales to know just how big the world really was, "But still, a whole week?"

"As much as I want to save Tetra," Link frowns at the fairy, "There isn't much we can do if that's how long it'll take. It's nice that we're on a pretty fast ship but we can only cut time down by so much." He's understanding but still sadden by the news, even Ciela seems disheartened and Blue thinks she's had enough people being depressed for today.

Blue settles herself onto the ground as she pulls her hands free from her pocket, "Come on, we can use this time more productively than just complaining about things."

That perks the boy's mood up as Link immediately reaches behind for his sword and Ciela flutters out of the way to watch from the sidelines, "Oh yeah, I can practice a bit so the next time Tetra and I have a rematch, I can actually beat her!"

There's a gentle laugh from Blue as the general mood finally shifts and Link returns to his confident old self, "Well, I'm not sure we're going to have enough time for _that_ much improvement."

"Hey!"

The two spent the better part of the day practising, using Blue as a sparring partner - since the blade wasn't embedded with magic and thus, was unable to hurt her - and Ciela cheered him on. It felt like they were back on Tetra's ship, surrounded by the crew as they egged on the Captain and the Hero who would fight with a fury of gun-smoke and swords. Blue almost felt like they were home, back in the days long before Tetra showed up and trouble soon followed. Back in the more innocent days of pig wrangling, fishing, and short spars in the sunshine.

She knew that despite everything, Link missed his little sister and his grandmother with all his heart. Once they found their new Hyrule, the boy planned on returning to the little island and bringing his family to their new home. But as for right now, they had to take things one step at a time. Hopefully, things would turn out the way they hoped for, even if life continued to drag them through by strings of fate.

The week long journey took a few days longer than expected.

A couple of times, they had stopped by to gather supplies from a travelling merchant (he seemed awfully familiar) less they starve before they reached the island. Though there had been one interesting event in which Linebeck made them wait on the ship as he went to the merchant alone, coming back with nothing more than a small green bag. When asked about it, of course he either ignored them or told them to mind their own business. It only fuelled their curiosity but collectively, they decided to leave it be.

There were several times they nearly ran into pirate ships, having to take detours to avoid them before finding their way back on course. It was smarter than being caught as Link, even with the growth of his skills as a swordsman, wouldn't be able to take on an entire crew of pirates. It was even less likely that Linebeck would do anything more than hide below deck.

_How he's survived for this long should be considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World..._

Blue was still glad to find her assumption had been right that her insensitive comment from back then hadn't affected Linebeck at all, leaving her to wonder if she had just imagined the whole situation to begin with. Ciela often argued with the old sailor when he'd trick Link into doing chores around the ship he didn't want to do himself, their bickering usually ending as quickly as it came.

Blue rarely spoke to him herself but she spent a lot of time telling Ciela stories about their adventures well into the night, reliving the memories that the fairy expressed playful jealousy in. Ciela said she felt bad that Blue couldn't remember anything from her old life but the girl pointed out that this was the opportunity to make new memories to remember instead.

"You can either choose to live your past or make your future."

Blue couldn't exactly lay claim with how that cheered up the bright ball of light, she's heard it come from Link in the past. It's not always easy to move on but sometimes, it's the only choice you've got. She's not given up on trying to reclaim her own lost memories and knew that when the time came, they'd be able to recover what was once lost. But for now, the girl found herself content with the idea she'd most likely end up following the boy around until the end.

Blue wondered how much she'd miss him when he had to leave her too.

Her time with Link has helped her immensely, knowing how she would have turned out if the child hadn't offered a hand of friendship that day. Honestly, Blue couldn't feel down around him even if she tried and continued to help him in whatever way she could. When Link wasn't busy cleaning or fixing something on the ship, he was training with Blue out on the deck for hours. Of course she couldn't take up a sword herself but she still knew plenty of tips that would improve his own skills quite a bit.

"What if I-"

"No."

"But Blue!"

"I said no, spinning around with your sword sounds ridiculous..."

Even if said improvement wasn't always seen eye to eye.

But at long last, they reached the sweltering Isle of Ember. The first thing they noticed was the massive volcano set in the middle of the island, a handful of houses dotting the landscape on a cliff near the shores. There seemed to be some sort of decorative opening on the highest cliff on the volcano, two large candles could be seen burning brightly as if to clearly mark the entrance. Vegetation is spares, there was nothing more than dried out shrubs and a few patches of brittle grass furthest from the boiling mountain, "So this is the Isle of Ember? Let's land!"

"That volcano seems close to erupting! Do you really think we can?" It's rare to hear Ciela so skeptical but her nerves were not misplaced at least since any sane person would agree.

Blue just quietly chuckles to herself, wondering if they realized they rhymed their sentences together.

They docked with easy, everyone getting off the ship as Linebeck secures it to a post, "You run along and find that temple, I'll stay here with the ship!"

"Oh no you don't!" The little fairy zips over to him, furiously fluttering her wings and angrily chimes, "You're just going to run off by yourself, aren't you?"

He almost looks insulted, placing a hand to his chest in a mocking gesture, "I would never do such a-"

"Hey guys?" Everyone pauses as Blue speaks up, Link was concerned by how uncomfortable she seemed looking around from where they were and the slightly alert tone in her voice, "Is it just me or...does this place seem awfully quiet?"

And now that she mentioned it, something did feel a bit off. They didn't see a single person around as an eerie silence washes over them. Dead silent, one might say, "Wait, where is everyone? Maybe they're inside?"

Blue seems troubled, looking towards the pathway that lead up to the scattered cliff side houses, but doesn't answer the question.

After much '_consulting_' (which was mostly just Ciela and Link yelling and Blue egging him on), Linebeck was convinced to join them to the village. Though just before they began to set off, the old sailor remembered something, "Wait right here!"

"Oh, what is it now?" Ciela sighs, watching him hurry back into his cabin from the dock, "He better not be trying to runaway again!"

"With the boat still tied up?" Link gestures to the rope still secured around a post. Even he wouldn't be that stupid. It wasn't long until Linebeck returns, carrying a small wooden shield that he nearly thrusts into the boy's confused hands, "What's this?"

"What does it look like?" Linebeck scowls a bit, "You _have_ seen a shield before, haven't you?"

"Of course I have! But...why are you giving me one?"

"Yeah, you don't seem like the gift-giving type..."

"That old man actually handed it to me back on Mercay Island, kid. Said you might need it." He explains, looking off to the side and clears his throat, "I just...kind of forgot I had it until now." And here Link thought Linebeck was actually being nice.

The shield was a decent size, not too large but not too small. It was the perfect size for Link to easily carry it and to protect him as well. On the face was an image of what looked like a lobster, parts sectioned in chunky blocks of metal and it's pincers angled towards the small Triforce emblem at the top middle.

Blue liked the little shield, finding it cute.

"What a time to remember something like this." Link grumbles as he straps it to his back.

"You're welcome!"

"I wasn't thanking you, old coot!"

They began to ascend up the pathway which lead towards the village, a straight yet slightly wavy trail that was steeper than they thought. At least Blue and Ciela were having an easier time than the boys were though it was only because they had the ability to just float off the ground. How Link envied it so. By the time they made it up the path, everyone (excluding the literal mass of sarcastic energy) could feel the burning heat from the volcano, "Man, how could anyone live in such a place."

"I don't know, it seems like a nice place to me."

"Hey, you don't get a say in this, Blue. You aren't affected by the heat..." Link gives the ghostly girl a look who simply gives him a small smile.

The houses themselves were very simple, made of stone and tilted roofs. Wood was barely present on them, only along the frames which held the doors. A few had decorative red and green paint along the bottom of the walls, adding a touch of color to an otherwise dirt brown environment. Broken barrels and shattered pots rested outside near the doors, windows were securely closed despite the doors being left wide open. It smelt heavy of charred stone and ash, soft white flakes fluttering like snow from the volcano. Off on a distant cliff, not too far from the houses, was a tower. It was the only building that was any different from the rest which left the impression it was of some importance.

They decide to check around first before going to the tower. Linebeck waits outside as the others enter into the nearest house to find...nothing, "Huh?"

"It's...deserted?"

"That's kinda creepy." Ciela says, fluttering around the small room to look for any signs of where they might have gone. Clothes were still left folded neatly on a bed, food that was left behind was spoiled and left a musty scent which mingled with the ash. But everything looked normal which was probably more unsettling than not, "Maybe they're just out? Let's check out another house..."

The next one they checked was just as barren except for the burning torch left inside. The feeling of uneasiness was only growing and it was made worse by the next house they went to, burnt nearly to the ground.

"Okay, I think that's enough exploring! What in Din's name happened?" It's unsurprising that Linebeck finally broke the eerie silence but his concerns weren't misplaced. There didn't seem to be anyone around, like they all had abandoned the small village for one reason or another. But all that was left was the question of why.

"We still have to go check out the tower, at the very least." Blue says, beginning to float over to the building, "I'll check it out ahead of time and tell you if I see anything. Person or not, there has to be some sort of clue in there, right?" With not much to argue with, not that she'd listen if they did, the girl sets off.

It was a fairly short for a tower, looking more like a tall house. Walls were flourished with decorations and the doorway much grander than the houses that surrounded it. Blue enters inside and the first thing she sees is a large purple chair sitting in front of a small round table with a glassy crystal ball sitting on top. The ceiling held rich blue silks and golden strings of jewels loosely draped from the rafters, a few acting as curtains to section off parts of the room. Near the chair and table was a wide set of stairs that lead further down into the tower, another set of stairs leading up.

"Wow, what is this place?" Blue drifts over to the table, looking over the sea-green orb which rested on a golden stand. There was a strange sort of feeling coming off it, as if it were calling her to whisper it's secrets.

Blue's attention snaps back to reality when she hears something coming from downstairs. It was a soft scuttling that sounded awfully familiar to her. Curious, she begins to head down the steps, not bother to be careful since...well there's really no point. Blue wonders how reckless she'll be if she ever gets to return to her physical body, "Hello?"

Once she reached the basement, Blue is taken aback by the sheer amount of small red creatures running around. Their bodies were ball-shaped with four little tentacles underneath and a purple patch at the base of their snouts, round yellow eyes sat more to the sides of their heads rather than the front. In a way, they reminded Blue of octoroks with how they were spitting out rocks from their snouts whenever one of them got too close.

But these ones were much cuter, in her honest opinion.

"Oi, Blue? Where are you?" The girl looks back over to the stairs, floating up through the floor to see that the others made it, "What did you find?"

"It's crazy, there's a whole mess of these little red things spitting out rocks downstairs!"

"Huh? You mean octoroks, right?" Linebeck asks only to have the boy - and he assumes the ghost as well - turn to look at him with childish wide eyes, blinking at him owlishly as if confused by what he was talking about. Linebeck frowns, feeling a tad concerned by the lack of what should be common knowledge, "What?"

"That's what they're called?" Blue is just as perplexed as Link who frowns at him.

"Well, to be more specific, they're land octoroks. More rare than ones you'd find in the water but they're relatively harmless."

"Harmless or not, there's a lot of them downstairs..." Blue ponders for a moment, "There's also this large door down there too. I'm not sure what's behind there but we'd have to clear out the basement first."

"Hey, no sweat! If these things are like the octoroks I've fought before than this should be a piece of cake!" Link pulls free his sword and shield, "Just wait up here until I'm done." The boy heads downstairs to face the small creatures. Even if they weren't much of a fight, it was still going to take him a while to take them all out. But as soon as Link went down, Linebeck began to turn around to leave.

Ciela immediately intercepts him at the door, "And where do you think you're going?"

Linebeck scoffs at her, crossing his arms, "I'm a treasure hunter, what do you think? Besides, the kid is gonna be busy anyways so where's the harm in a bit of sleuthing?"

"Considering it's you, I'd say plenty!"

"H'oh? And what are _you_ going to do about it?" He smirks, flustering Ciela even more, "You're just a little fairy!"

"Well I..." Damn him for being right _again_!

"How's about this," Blue sighs, knowing that one was just going to leave no matter what was said and the other would follow anyways, "We'll just tag along to look around the island and then we _all_ come back here. Agreed?"

"Why would I want an annoying pipsqueak and an equally annoying _ghost_ following me around?"

She delivers her answer in a flat tone, knowing he was calling her a ghost just to annoy her, "Cause otherwise, I'll just possess you to keep you from ditching us..."

"..."

"..."

"...I've made my decision!"

"I'm glad we can see eye to eye." Blue smiles at the irritated look as Linebeck swiftly turns to head out the door. Ciela takes lead while Blue trails behind, hoping things didn't take too long and they could arrive before the boy was finished in the basement. She wondered how big the island was since she could only go so far from Link, otherwise it'd be like hitting a wall. Still, someone responsible had to keep an eye on them to prevent them from bickering too much.

It's just sad that it had to be the one who they couldn't see.

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**skyguy05: First off, I've never realized until now but your username is fun to say (like...almost satisfying). Second, I'm glad that you consider this to be well written and that it makes you happy! Hearing that just tickles me pink and honestly, it puts a huge smile on my face seeing things like this. I actually didn't grow up with this game, my brothers had a N64 growing up and played Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask. I only just recently got into Phantom Hourglass because I've seen Linebeck's picture a couple of times and read comments about how good of a character he was. I started off by reading the manga and...oh man, I've read that about 15 times now, there's just so many moments that make me smile. I decided to make a fanfiction for PH when I watched Chuggaconroy's LP of it (first time watching any of his content too). So again, thank you kindly!**

**Lleu: WasthatapunIsaw?:3 But thank you! I was trying to figure out how to work out a way to include Link getting the sword without just being given it as he does in the manga. I didn't want to just have him draw on the door (I mean it could be counted as magic but it didn't feel right just using that as the function for the door). I decided on a sorta of pull lever system that would mimic drawing out the number 7 cause it made sense to me. Plus I felt like it added a bit more to the story**

**Also huge thanks to ZeldaMasterPenju (noot noot) for all the love, you made me jump by how many times you set off my phone's notification, haha!**

**Thank you as well to Komaric!**

**I took some creative liberties with the design of Linebeck's ship since we only know what below deck actually looks like. I kinda see it bigger than what it's been described as (or at least the cabin part), big enough to sleep in since I doubt there's a place always readily available to sleep and he wouldn't just always do that out on the deck. Also where the steering wheel is, I know it was placed below deck but that never made any sense so I just moved it up, the steam engine is still below deck and the actual stream engine will be talked about more in a later chapter. Honestly though, how the hell did Linebeck get a steam-powered boat? Did he make it? Or perhaps buy it? Maybe I'll introduce that as well later on!**

**Oh and before I forget, if you haven't checked out "_O Captain! My Captain!_" by _icearrows1200_, it's a very well written fanfiction mostly in Linebeck's POV. It's short but sweet, it leaves me feeling satisfied by the end and I'll usually read it over when I need a quick little break from writing.**

**Happy Writings,**

**KB**


	6. Chapter 5

_"No matter where you go,_

_No matter what I do,_

_There's some things that can never be changed._

_So even if I go,_

_Can you promise me so_

_That you will never forget me too..._

_I'll always be a friend to you."_

* * *

**~.: Chapter Five :.~**

* * *

The trails, which bore no markings, were definitely man-made.

They swerved naturally along the walls of the volcanic but had been cleaned and smoothed out over the years to provide an easier trek through the island. It didn't seem to lead to much though once they were around halfway there, it was clear the wide dirt road lead up towards the entrance with the candles they saw earlier that morning. Immediately, Linebeck vetoed going any further on the grounds that it's too dangerous and that he's just looking for treasure, not trouble. Of course, the sailor was met with teasing remarks from both the fairy and ghost but he wasn't going to rise to their bait, not this time!

"Coward..." Came a familiar drawl behind him.

"I am not!"

_Okay, so maybe next time..._

The trio went back down the path, towards the abandoned village that gave him unpleasant chills. The smell of ash and brimstone was strong yet everything (minus one unfortunate house) remained intact. It made Linebeck briefly wonder what caused everyone to leave, curious if maybe the village was abandoned when the volcano suddenly became active or...if something _worse_ happened.

Oh, how the sailor would just love to be back on his ship, where he knew it was safe and far away from whatever it was that's going on but no. Instead, Linebeck was forced to join the others in their search for answers on the blistering island because he couldn't be counted on to stay. How dare they not trust him! It's not like he was actually going to ditch them on an island that may or may not erupt at any moment now.

Even if the thought seemed pleasant to the man at the moment.

But no, as much as he wanted to tuck his tail and leave, Linebeck had his own (and preferably never to tell) reasons of why he agreed to help the kid out with whatever it was he said he had to do.

_What was it again? Something about a girl? _

It certainly didn't seem like the kid had been referring to the troublesome ghost currently trailing behind them.

From what he's gathered, the two of them have known each other for a very long time. They don't question why the girl was forced to tag along wherever the boy went, or at least they did question it but simply didn't mind whatever reason. Actually, the fact that Linebeck - and Ciela if their late night conversations were anything to go by - could hear the girl was apparent more of a cause to question than not. He didn't understand it either nor did he like it in the least, being able to hear something he couldn't see. It didn't help the old sailor could practically sense where the girl was, even if she did tend to keep to herself more than the others.

Linebeck chalks it up to years of paranoia, always having to watch his back and his treasure, especially from a certain dark haired piratress hellbent on sinking him to the bottom of the ocean.

_Honestly, I have no clue why that woman is so angry at me..._

"Let's check along the coast!" Ciela suggests, quickly fluttering off ahead. Was she not concerned about what might be on the island? Oh well, if something wanted to eat them, at least it'd be the fairy first.

There's not much along the shoreline, not even the island's greenery which grew brittle and frail due to the sweltering hot air practically coming off the ground in rolling waves. Linebeck had to shrug off his coat after a few minutes less he die from the heat. Ciela didn't seem too bothered by the temperature, maybe flying a tad slower than normal. Linebeck was about to internally question if Blue was affected at all but remembered Link's comment when they had been heading up to the village, quickly dismissing his curiosity.

But after an hour of searching, it was becoming increasingly clear that their sleuthing would be fruitless, "I don't think there's anything around here." Blue comments from somewhere behind the two, voicing their thoughts out loud.

"Maybe they took all their valuables when they left the island?" Ciela pauses to look behind her at Linebeck who takes a quick glance around.

"That would've been the smart choice, yes." He grumbles, a little annoyed since that most likely meant he wouldn't be anything to plunder anything of value. But something in the distance catches his attention and he squints against the rays of the morning sun, raising a hand to shadow his eyes, "Wait a second..."

"Is...that another torch?" He could hear Blue's questioning frown, "Like the one back in the village."

Linebeck hadn't given the torch much thought when he heard about it but the fact there was yet another one brightly lit - and one so far from the village, practically all the way on the other side of the island - had to mean something. If all his years of hunting treasure had taught him anything, it was that things like these would most often lead to something good and valuable! It perks up his mood and maybe his day was finally turning around for the better.

When they get there, however, it plummets back down like a rock in his stomach at the sight of a skeleton laying under a nearby tree. Across the way was the torch, fire gently crackling as the flames danced in the wind. A stick which smoldered slightly at the tip was clutched within dry bony fingers, the poor soul probably having died not too long after lighting the torch for whatever reason. Linebeck isn't sure what they were used for, maybe some sort of single for when there was danger?

_Not like__ it did them much good..._

Ciela let's out a terrified shriek, an adequate response in his mind, as he staggers back slightly at the sight. There's a cold rush that chills him to the core and prickles his skin in a familiar way. It reminded Linebeck of when he first entered the Temple of the Ocean King, past the piles of bones scattered across the floor that almost seemed to warn him of an impending doom.

"Guys, be quiet. I'm trying to hear him." Blue calls from near the skeleton, frantically wondering how the girl was able to hear the voice of the dead. This didn't help their claims about her not actually being a ghost herself and in fact, proved otherwise, "...Yeah, I can speak for you if you want."

"Wh-What? What are they saying?" Linebeck snaps, already feeling tired from this whole trip and it wasn't even noon.

"His name is Kayo, he worked as a servant to someone named _Madame Astrid_ but fell in battle..." Blue is quiet for a moment, either out of remorse for the soul or because she was listening to what he was saying, "A few days ago, monsters appeared on the island. The same day the volcano suddenly became active. The monsters attacked the village...and..." Her voice trails off, Linebeck feels his skin blanch knowing what the next part was suppose to be, "He hid away, by Astrid's orders, but not before making sure she was safe."

"Wait so this Astrid lady is still alive?" Ciela questions, hovering near the bones that had once belonged to Kayo.

"He says he's not sure, that's why his soul is still here because he can't move on until he knows. He tried waiting until he thought the monsters left before going back outside." Apparently, not long enough, "...The torches are the key to freeing Astrid, that's if she's still alive."

"B-But there's still monsters on this island?" Linebeck checks around but sees nothing, only the dry earth and hot sands.

"Most likely, yes." He flinches at that, annoyed at how nonchalant her tone was, "However, it shouldn't be too much of an issue. He said that once all three torches are lit, the door in the tower's basement will open. The last one is Northwest from here, on the opposite side from the village. He's asking if we could-"

"No! No, not a chance!" He's not risking his neck for someone already dead. Who knows what else is on this island? Linebeck at least wanted to live a few more years because he kicked the bucket, "I refuse to help if it means I might die as well! Unlike _you_, I actually like being _alive_!" He could feel Blue glaring at him and if he could see her, he'd doing the same right back at her. Linebeck ignores the irrate words from the fairy because neither understood. It wasn't wrong for him to put his own safety first, that's how people got far in life. When things get too saucy, you booked it as far and fast as you could.

Yes, he is a_ coward _and a _backstabber_, he'll fully admit that without a problem but look how far that's got him. He's alive, travelling the seas with nothing but his ambition for riches and his ship!

_What's wrong with the fact that I don't wanna die?_

Despite the gentle crackles of fire and the rolling waves of the sea, silence settles and stretches between them as Linebeck glares at the pile of bones before turning to leave, "...Linebeck?" Says a voice too calm, a voice too young, and he's not sure why he stopped mid-step, "I'll tell you this, here and now...and know that...that I've never gone back on my word." He doesn't miss the hesitation, not in doubt but reluctant because the girl was being _very serious_ right now. Linebeck knows full and well none of the kids liked him very much, something which he could agree with. He knows that they would've preferred someone else to take them on their journey because he could _not_ be trusted.

Linebeck shouldn't be trusted and he knew Blue was smart enough to understand that. Yet here she was, in a seemingly rare moment of open honesty and complete conviction so that he wouldn't leave. Deciding to humor her for once but refusing to turn around, the old sailor listens to what she has to promise, "Alright then, what is it?"

Blue takes a breath, as if to steel herself, "I promise...nothing bad is gonna happen to you. Not now...and not moving forward, at least until we've saved our friend." Something nags at the back of his mind but he ignores it as the girl continues, "I'll do what I can to keep both you and Ciela safe, to give you enough time to escape so you can get Link. But...I'm not letting you die because of us."

The sailor mulls it over for a minute, "...And I have your word on that?"

"Hey! She's being serious, you _jerk_!"

"Yes, you have my word..."

"Blue!"

Linebeck felt like he should believe that. The fact she spoke so seriously told him a lot. She's does the same for the boy - someone he knew she cared for immensely - whenever they practiced out on the deck, pointing out areas he could improve upon or reminding him whenever he made a mistake and the kid would take those words to heart. He's seen it many times from his window whenever he studied the sea charter.

The girl was openly honest when it mattered which would probably hurt if he cared enough.

Linebeck grins, turning back around to where they were, "Alright then, I'll help out if you really mean that."

"Fine." Oh, she was mad at him, but at least he knew he had a ticket out of trouble if it came his way.

"Blue!" Both ignored the fairy as Linebeck tucks his coat under one arm and picks up the torch, cringing a bit at how the bones creaked as he pried it free. He heads across the bridge to the torch and lights it, ascending back down the pathway. A foul mood clouded around the other two who followed far behind.

But it didn't matter to someone like Linebeck who got what he wanted, as usual.

Because if it meant he could live just a bit longer, Linebeck had no quails with using the promise of a possibly dead little girl to do so.

* * *

The wind on the other side of the island hushes to a gentle breeze, the already hot air even more humid.

It was awfully quiet as everyone made their way to where Kayo said the last torch stood, off on a ledge to the Northwestern side of the island. No one spoke a word since the solemn vow. It was an unhappy silence that no one dared to break, even if everyone wanted to move on.

Ciela was mad at Linebeck for yet again proving how much of a coward he was, willing to risk their quest by refusing to cooperate. Was that not what Link and Blue were doing? Was that not what _she_ was doing? Were they too not risking themselves in order to help? Why would he bother to agree if he apparently didn't understand that?

All these questions were simply making her angrier the more she thought about them.

Blue, however, was silenced by her own questions in a different manner. She'd have to talk to Link once they were back out at sea but in the meantime, they had a little quest to complete. Linebeck was smart enough to keep his mouth shut as he carries the torch, keeping his eyes ahead and occasionally wiping the sweat off his brow with his sleeve.

It was definitely more rugged around the Northern end, less of the land had been formed by civilization and was instead left to naturally flourish with spreads of wild grass and numerous clusters of tall trees. It still wasn't very much but it's more than what they saw before. The volcano continued to loom overhead, an eerie silence settling heavy like a blanket over the island.

After a while of trekking through the more rural area, it was Linebeck's tired grumbling which was first to break the unison cold shouldering, "Where is that damn torch...?"

"It shouldn't be too much further." Blue responds as if there weren't issues going on right now, "He said it'd be directly across from the village." It probably would've been a smarter choice to backtrack to the village but it also would've taken much longer than it already was to backtrack that far, "Strange though, I didn't expect that there'd be nothing here."

"Considering what we found on the shores, I'm not surprised."

"Well that's a good thing, isn't it?" Ciela pipes up, still fluttering furthest from the group, "No monsters or anything."

"It is but...it's odd. Where did they all go? Actually, where did they all even _come from_?"

"Did that pile of bones not tell you?" Linebeck peers over his shoulder, only seeing Ciela but knew Blue was currently floating along beside the fairy, "Because it sounds like something he should've told us."

Blue shrugs with a small hum, "He said his soul manifested after time had passed so he doesn't know. Still, even if he said there weren't any monsters, the fact they just showed up on an otherwise peaceful island means we should be careful nonetheless."

"Yeah, I suppose...you sure don't think like a child, do you?"

"That role seems to be taken by you, my good sir."

Linebeck bristles at that comment as Ciela giggles behind him. Blue laughs a little as well, feeling the awkward tension ease a bit. As much as the old sailor had annoyed her with what happened, Blue can't fault him completely for not wanting to go into something that could possibly cause him harm. It was a natural reaction, self-preservation, and not everyone could disregard danger like Link or even Ciela.

But that still didn't change the fact that he could have cost them by stubbornly refusing to help, even though it should be obvious that (even without her promise) they wouldn't let him be harmed. Blue wonders how much this was going affect their journey if he continued to act so selfishly and if, in the end, it might be better to find someone else.

_Ah, I'll worry about that if it comes up..._

As they went through the island, Blue doesn't miss how Linebeck occasionally glances up towards the volcano. Angry plumes of smoke billow out from the top, clouding above in a thick ring of dark ash. A deep rumble could be heard once in a while, echoing beneath the ground and gently shaking the earth. It seemed only a matter of time before the volcano erupted, leaving very little chance to try and escape.

But there's something else that appeared to have caught his attention, eyes focused elsewhere along the jagged walls and Linebeck comes to an abrupt stop, "What is it?" Blue inquiries, suddenly feeling a little tense.

"I swear...I just heard something..."

"Oh, that's just your yellow-belly talking!" Ciela whizzes past him, up a bit towards the closest cliff, "There's nothing here so stop worrying!"

"Oi, I never said I was worried!"

"Oh really?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." He sniffs, posing his shoulders more squarely, "I was simply ah- testing to see if you're paying attention!"

"Good grief..."

"A true sailor must be aware of his surroundings!"

"I thought that was for ninjas?" Blue asks and raises a brow at him.

"That doesn't mean you can't while out on the sea too."

Ciela turns to float back down when she spots it, the torch they had been searching for. It was around the corner from where they were, nearby a large tree at the edge of a cliff. Her glow brightens as she wings flutter more quickly with happy excitement, "Hey, I see the-!"

"Ah, monsters!"

"No, you idiot, the torch!"

"Oh..."

Blue drifts up to Ciela, spotting it easily from up above treetops, "You're right, we're almost there."

"How far is it?" Linebeck calls from the ground, squinting up at them.

Blue turns to answer but closes her mouth when she noticed how pale he suddenly became, eyes widening slowly and she realized that it wasn't Ciela he was looking at. Quickly turning around, the girl sees what caused the reaction and thinks that maybe, he hadn't just been hearing things from before.

The edge of the cliff, the one she had been facing away, was lined with spindly legged creatures she's never seen before. Standing steadily and quietly with their glowing yellow eyes baring down at Ciela and Linebeck. How come they didn't notice them before? Had they been hiding? Still, Blue questions why Linebeck was so freaked out about them because they didn't look so scary to her. Then again, these were the size of a large dog and as weak as their legs looked, Blue could see the razor edges lining the limbs.

_Yeah, that must be it..._

"Hey, Ciela?"

"Yeah?"

The fairy has yet to look behind her, both Blue and Linebeck standing stiffly still, "Can you do us a favor and see where Link is at with those octoroks?"

"Huh?" She's confused, edged with worry, because it's clear that something isn't right.

"Don't turn around, just...just head for him and quickly." Blue kept her tone as neutral as ever because it's easier that way, to hide her concerns and troubles, but it's still clear something was wrong. Ciela is hesitant, fluttering quietly beside her as Blue watches a few of the spindly legs beginning to tense, "Ciela...I gave you my word, did I not?" She hadn't been just talking to Linebeck when she made that promise, "And I told you I never go back on my word."

"But..." The protest dies as quickly as it came, the small ball of light quickly flying away after a brief moment of hesitation and the sailor sweats when he sees her leaving them behind.

"Wa-Wait, where is she going?"

"Nevermind that." Now wasn't the time to panic, "I don't know what these things are but they don't seem too friendly..."

"You don't- what? They're red tektites! Honestly, have you never been outside before?!" A few begin to crouch which Linebeck yelps at, already turning to make a run for it.

"Wait, you idiot! I still don't know what they are!"

The tektites begin to ascend off the cliff, their thin legs carrying them far with powerful jumps. From the points of impact she could see, little dents formed in the solid earth (not very large but still) and Blue understands a little better why these were dangerous. There's too many for her to deal with, even if she took control of one. Blue frantically searches around for anything she could use when she spots a yellowish blob on the ground ahead.

_Wait, is that what I thinks it is? _

An idea comes to mind and the girl calls out to the fleeing man, "Linebeck, head slightly to the East! That's where the torch is!" Whether or not he heard her didn't matter, he just had to get to the torch and light it. In the meantime, Blue hurries towards the yellow chuchu currently wandering around in the grass. Chuchu's were probably one of the very few things she could successfully possess without fail, their intelligence almost next to nothing.

But probably the best of all, this one was yellow which meant it was more than just a sentient pile of gelatin.

The tektites were gaining on Linebeck who, thankfully, listened to what Blue had said and began heading over to the right. He could see the torch up ahead, standing alone on the cliff side. He wasn't sure what she had planned but whatever it was, he hoped it was soon. He fails to notice the blob of yellow meandering on the ground, running right past it and out of the line of trees. Just as he does, it pops up from the ground before sparking. It's body stretches wide, blocking off a decent portion of tektites before a loud snap cracks through the air, zapping the critters. Linebeck nearly drops the torch, eyes wide as he looks over his shoulder at the scene, "What in the-?"

"Idiot, just get moving!"

"Where'd you come from?!"

"I'll explain later unless you want a demonstration..." He's confused for a moment before remembering her idle threats to possess him, understanding it now. Quickly, while the tektites and the yellow chuchu were stunned, Linebeck makes his way to the torch. He's out of breath but he rather be that then trampled by dozens of spindly legs jumping all over him - one tektite wasn't an issue. Dozens, however, meant a huge issue. He lights the torch and Blue expects something to occur, feeling a little disappointed when nothing happens, "Well that's stupid..."

"Do you want to know what else is stupid?"

"...What?" She almost doesn't want to ask.

"Those damn things are getting ready to jump again!"

Turning around, Blue sees that yes, the tektites aren't stunned anymore and the chuchu has sunk into the ground and thus, out of her reach. Even if many were sprawled across the ground, twitching and slightly crisp, there was still plenty of them left. Linebeck moves to hide behind the torch which offered little protection but at least it offered more than what she could. Blue feels almost frustrated at how useless she could be at times, unable to physically do much and her possessive abilities very limited. This has happened many times in the past with Link, back even before Tetra ever showed up, where she simply couldn't assist him in any way. Of course, the boy was far too kind to see her sad, always encouraging her that she could do better the next time.

But this was the _next time_.

"Blue! Hey Blue!"

"Huh?" Blue turns to see Ciela zipping over to them, immediately bumping into a tektite that got a bit too close for comfort and knocking it onto it's back, "Ciela! Where's Link?"

"He's almost here, he said to go on ahead though so I came as fast as I could." The tektites were drawing closer and it didn't seem like the boy is going to make it in time. However, all hope was not lost, "What are we gonna do?"

"Ciela, see that yellow spot on the ground? Straight ahead." The little fairy spots what Blue is talking about, "I need you to hover above it and move when the chuchu pops out."

"A chuchu?" Ciela asks, confused but decides that now isn't the time to question. She trusts that Blue knows what she's doing.

So the small fairy zips through the horde of tektites, gently fluttering over the spot where the yellow chuchu was hiding as she glowed a bit brighter. It took less than a second for it to pop back out of the ground, Ciela nearly being swallowed up in it's gelatinous body which already began to spark. Blue makes quick work of possessing it again, trying to move it's slow body ahead of the horde before it could reach Linebeck (who is shouting at them to do something, isn't that what they're doing?). It wasn't working as well as she had hoped for, even with the short jumps she could do.

Ciela was doing the best she could as well, trying to bounce off any that got near her while they were in mid-air. Luckily, it was hard for tektites to get back onto their feet from their backs but that didn't mean they stayed down for long. Once again, Blue expanded the body of the chuchu and let out another intense electric zap, halting a decent amount but not any of the ones that had made it past her. She was once again kicked from the chuchu, Blue feels the edge of fatigue edging her mind but luckily, she still had plenty of energy left in her. The chuchu was gone though, probably having been squashed by the bug-like legs, and there wasn't another one in sight.

Blue frowns, looking at the situation and wondering what she could do. She doesn't notice it at first though, how there seemed to be _less_ of them attacking. Not until she saw the flash of a familiar blade and a pop of green making its way over, "Link!"

The kid is easily taking down the spindly legged creatures, balanced and precise as ever as he spins on his heel, slicing at limbs and bodies alike. The fight was brief, the rest of the tektites scuttling away before the blade could touch them. Link huffs, scowling in their direction as he sheathes the sword back into it's scabbard, "Are you guys okay?"

"That was amazing!" Ciela whizzes in circles above his head, teetering with excitement, "All that training really paid off, huh?"

"Yeah, you actually improved a bit since the last time." Blue hums, "Even if that last move was ridiculous-"

"Oh, come on, Blue!"

Ciela flutters over to the torch as Linebeck peeks out from behind it, eyes scanning over the fallen bodies and scattered limbs before blanching, "You can come out now, you big cucco."

"What? I am not! I was merely-" A brief pause and a thoughtful look, "Protecting the torch! Just in case those things came near it, I went through a lot of work getting this thing lit up!"

"Uh huh..."

"Zip it, Sparkles!" He finally emerges and snatches up his coat, brushing off the dirt, "I could have easily handled those beasts if I wanted to, ya know."

"Well geez, if I would have known that." Blue knows it's all talk because she's never seen someone run as quickly as he had. Linebeck must of had lots of practice to do that, "We should head back to the tower though. Kayo said the torches were the key to unlocking the basement downstairs..."

"Oh, is that what happened?" Link asks, looking over to Blue, "After I cleared out all the octoroks, the door downstairs opened. The lady there asked for all of us to return before I left to look for you."

Blue felt relief for more than simply just the person they needed to talk to was still alive. Kayo's soul had been filled with so much sorrow and grief at the thought of having failed to save his beloved friend, someone with whom he cared a lot for. Before they left the Isle of Ember, Blue planned on revisiting his body to let him know that Astrid was okay and hopefully putting his grieving soul to rest.

Ciela happily chimes above them, already hurrying in the direction of the tower, "That must be Astrid then! Let's hurry and see if she knows where the temple is!"

Link grins as he rushes to catch up with her, Blue beginning to float after them but pauses to look over her shoulder to see Linebeck standing beside the torch for a moment. Blue couldn't tell what thoughts were currently there but a thoughtful scowl settles on his face before he sighs, shaking his head and moseying along behind the others. Blue still had her questions and suspicions about the sailor but for now, as long as he didn't intend to harm Link or their mission to save Tetra, she'll not dwell on her doubts too much.

Even if her ever growing concerns were gnawing at her mind.

* * *

When they arrive back at the tower, the once empty room was now occupied by the fortune teller, Astird.

She was quite the beautiful woman, dark blue eyes were lined with thick lashes and long red hair pinned up into a high ponytail which curled down her back. Jewels adored her hair and clothes, the long purple dress hiding none of her slim curves as she practically glides over to her chair. Lips spread into a faint smile, hidden by the sheer veil which covered the lower half of her face.

There was an air of grace and mystery that swirled around her with hidden magic dancing in her eyes.

Link blinks at the woman, unsure of what to make of her other than she seemed nice.

"Welcome to the House of the Fortune Teller, I am Astrid..." She delicately crossed a leg over the other, hands resting on the wooden arms of the chair as she leans back into it, "I presume you're the ones who saved me from my own basement?"

The boy's cheeks flush a bit with humbleness, "I guess, yeah."

Astird's laugh was more like a hum, amusement shimmering in her eyes, "Such a modest hero, I thank you nonetheless. I do ask though, since I assume you've ran into my assistant..." It's hidden behind the aura of calm, the waves of anxious worry that she as though already knowing the answer, "Kayo, my dear friend...how does he fair?"

"He..." Link begins, already having been filled in by Ciela and Blue about what became of the man, "I'm sorry..." His response is meek, feeling ashamed although it had been his fault.

Link feels guilty, despite knowing there was nothing he could have done. He knows how hard it was to lose a friend - a companion. The memory of King Daphnes, a grieving ruler of a once powerful kingdom now far below the waves of the sea, still left a sort of pain in his heart which felt like it would never heal. The vessel he once inhabited was safely within Tetra's ship, Link couldn't bare to leave it behind. Even if the spirit of the king wasn't there anymore, it felt right to bring the King of Red Lions along their journey to find their new Hyrule.

Once they found home, they planned on resting the boat there as well.

Link watches the fortune teller close her eyes as she lets out a breathless sigh, her fingers grip the chair arms just a little tighter, "Do not apologize to me, young hero...Thank you." She hides her grief behind a smile, knowing she'll mourn once they left her house, "As repayment for your courage, allow me to light the way to you who are lost..." Astrid leans forward as her hands gently rest on top her crystal ball, eyes closing once more. There's a swirl of color and light that softly lights her face. Everyone was silent, curious, waiting to hear what it was she saw, "I can see it...your future. I implore you to listen with care."

When her eyes open, she turns her gaze over to Linebeck, "If you don't wish to be buried by dirty laundry, I suggest you get your wife to do it."

_His what?_

Almost immediately, Link and Ciela burst into laughter as Blue slaps her hands over her mouth to prevent the same - not that it did much to prevent the rude snort escaping. Linebeck stands there stunned for a moment before he grits his teeth, slapping a hand on top of the crystal ball, "We're not asking about _my life_ here!" The kids were in near tears at the snarling, the sailor's face reddening with embarrassment, "Quit laughing or I'm leaving you all here!"

"Ah, m-my sides!" Link gasps, trying to calm his giggles as Ciela rests on top of his head to calm herself as well. Oh, he wasn't going to hear the end of that. But Blue was more mildly curious about who the fortune teller was talking about.

Astrid smiles softly, finally looking over to Link, "Little hero," she begins which catches Link's attention, "There are those who seek you aid. Sealed away by the shadow, their light grows ever fainter. However, they will become the power to open the path you seek. The _Temple of Power_ you seek rests upon the cliff above this village, inside the blazing volcano." That must be the entrance with the candles they saw earlier, "Should you lose your way, you may ask me anytime."

Link and Linebeck give a determined nod, "Okay!" The sailor says before turning to the boy, giving him a shove towards the door, "Go, Link! Leave the ship repairs to me!" The boy feels like he should have expected that response but is a bit surprised as Linebeck brushes past him in a hurry, waving over his shoulder, "I'll be ready and waiting to cast off when you're finished!"

"Linebeck, wait!" Ciela calls for him but he leaves before she has a chance to stop him, "Oh, that Linebeck! If he tries to leave, I'll give him a good talking to!" She fumes as she follows Link out of the house, her wings furiously fluttering. Blue smiles, amused by the notion that it would have any affect on him.

"You do that, Ciela. And if he doesn't listen, I'll just-"

"Blue!"

"Kidding, I'm kidding..."

* * *

**Review Replies:**

**Lleu: What can I say? When I'm in the mood to write, I write.**

**Also I will post up a chapter as soon as it's finished (unless I finish two in one day then I'll only post up one). I'm just having a lot of fun writing this story and because I've been obsessing over it for almost a month, it helps that pretty much all my focus is on this. I've also been talking with a coworker about this too which gets me riled up! As for Linebeck's character, it feels like common sense that despite how much he acts like a boastful coward, he does know how to sail. I kinda imagine that he's been out at sea for many years, long before _a particular incident_ which I'll get to later on in the story. But yeah, he's an old sailor and any sailor worth their salt should know how to navigate the waters. He lives for the thrill of treasure hunting but if things get too dicey, he'll have no issue getting out of it by any means (after all, he's shown he has a way with words by tricking Link not once but twice thus far).**

**Anyways, I intend to flesh him out a bit more without going too much out of his character because personally, he's my utmost favourite character from Phantom Hourglass. I love how he went from caring about only himself and keeping his nose out of trouble to showing that he genuinely cares about other people and was even brave enough to face off against Bellum to buy Link time (and oh my God, don't get me started on what he was going to do in the manga!). It's not often you get to see this kind of character development and I have a soft spot for things like that. I intend to show a bit more moments as his personality changes over time, mostly between him and Link but also times with Ciela and a few with Blue.**

**Oh, and lets not forget Jolene too~! Hehe**

**Also to note: _I am well aware of the fact that it's suppose to be the_ _Temple of Fire and not the Temple of Power_ but the fact there's no temples named after the other two spirits bothers me (because shouldn't they be equally as important as Ciela?). So the names of the first two temples will be changed to their respected spirit (as well as something else which I'll wait to explain) just to give Leaf and Neri more importance in the story.**


	7. Chapter 6

_"Can you hear it? The world, the sea, it sings sadly of it's death...__"_

* * *

**~.: Chapter Six :.~**

* * *

It wasn't long before Link, Ciela, and Blue reached the entrance of the temple. Two large candles sat on either side of the stone archway, a large golden doorway at the mouth of the temple. Link wipes sweat off his brow, still determined and ready despite how hot it was being this close to the volcano, "This is it, the Temple of Power..."

"Think you can _handle the heat_?" Blue jokes, floating on over to inspect the stone door blocking their way inside.

"Ha, I've faced worst!" Which wasn't a lie. Link's confidence in his abilities wasn't just pulled out of thin air. He's accomplished great feats which not anyone could pull off, despite his young age. He had the experience to back up his gusto, no problem. Of course, there had been a lot of trial and error along the way but that was all part of the learning experience.

"But how are we going to get inside?" Ciela flutters over to look around for another entrance, unable to see any sort of keyhole or lever that would open the door, "The way is sealed shut."

"Don't worry, I've always been good at puzzles." Which was true, Link had very good problem solving skills which is why he probably ends up in messes like this in the first place. He thinks about it for a moment as he looks at the door, thinking back to the door back at the tower and how the torches were the key to solving those. An idea comes to mind and swiftly, Link puts out the flames on the candles, the doors rumble to live as though invisible hands begin to push them down, "See? Easy!"

Ciela seems amazed and Blue snorts, rolling her eyes a bit. For a boy no older than 12 (_almost 13_, she reminds herself begrudgingly), Link was certainly smart. Maybe not book smart or people smart, simply clever in picking up on hints that weren't as obvious to other people. He was still gullible, emotional and caring which lead him to being taken advantage of when people plucked his heartstrings just right. That's why he relied on Blue at times, even if he didn't want to. The girl wasn't anywhere close to clueless about how someone might feel, being able to tell what emotions are being felt without that person saying it, but how to deal with those feelings is where she lacked the experience. She get's uncomfortable, bothered, keeping her distance instead of dealing with the situation. Blue has told him before that she doesn't always realize when she's said something wrong to hurt something emotionally, simply preferring to be truthful and honestly, even if it meant that it hurt someone in the end.

Link would always tell her that's it's just simply who she was and he appreciated that.

It's kind of funny in a way how they made up for the half they lacked.

Hot air rushes out from the entrance of the temple, almost searing Link's skin as he shields his face. It was dry, warm, uncomfortable. His tunic felt heavy, the itchy fabric clinging uncomfortably to his skin and his belts felt like weights on his hips and shoulder, "Oh man, it's really hot in here." Ciela sighs, glowing a bit brighter as they entered inside, "Are you sure you'll be okay, Link?"

"If we're quick enough, yeah." Though a frown still adorns his face. He's been inside many temples in his life (thus far), some of them have been simple rooms while others were like complex mazes. He spent nearly 3 whole days inside one once, simply because he ended up lost until he found a map somewhere in the basement! Although he felt like he was in no danger of dying from the heat, that didn't mean he wanted to be in there for very long.

From the entrance to the temple itself, it was a small rocky hallway. If it hadn't been for Ciela's soft white glow, keeping herself close to Link and acting as his light source, it would have been too dark for him to see. He couldn't tell if they were venturing up or down into the volcano, there was this disorienting sense that he assumed was just the heat playing tricks on him. Link wonders why anyone would want to build a temple inside (or much less, near) a volcano but it doesn't seem like it's normally active. Maybe the volcano wasn't always so dusty and hot, maybe whatever was terrorizing the Spirit of Power was the cause of all this.

Actually, no, a volcano temple still sounds stupid to him.

Once they're through the hall, they reach what he assumes is the main room. It was absolutely massive, the ceiling rising so high that he couldn't see anything but a searing red glow above, stone pillars lined like a pathway towards a large decorative door on the other end of the room. Off to the sides, there were halls leading who knows where, the doorways open and cracked. The tilts on the floor were a dusty brown with little square patterns on them that gave the illusion of a crisscross design spread across the floor. The decorative walls were cracked, a few chipped or broken yet the place seemed relatively clean, as though whatever caused the damage hadn't been here for very long, "Wow..."

"That door up ahead must be here the spirit is." Blue said, floating on over across the room as Link ran with her, his footsteps echoing in the empty room. He could see a few keese hanging around the walls, watching him quietly but staying in place. Link wonders what might be inside the temple, if perhaps the monster inside was the cause for the volcano's activity. When he reaches the door, Link immediately goes to grab onto one of the handles until Ciela bumps his hands away.

"Don't touch the handles!"

"Huh?" Link blinks at her, confused, "What's wrong with them?"

Blue sighs, shaking her head slightly as she float beside the door, "We're in an active volcano, Link, of course the metal door handles will be hot."

"Oh, right..." He had been so eager to get inside, he hadn't even realized the handles were metal. Link pulls off his hat and wraps it around a hand, showing it to Blue who nods her head in approval. Grasping firmly on the door, he tries to pull it with all his might. Not even an inch. He tries to push it open instead and again, the door won't budge, "It's locked." He sounds a bit defeated, that meant more exploration of a temple he doesn't want to be in.

Again!

The Goddesses have a twisted sense of humor when they play with his fate.

"Oh, don't make it sound like the end of the world." Blue chides, already searching around with Ciela for some possible way to unlock the door. There weren't any keyholes this time which usually meant there's a switch involved.

"I was not, I just don't like it when things are predicable." Link unravels his hat from his hand, tying it to his belt because it's too hot to place it back on his head.

"Predicable is good though, it means an easier way of figuring out the solution."

"Hey, what's that?" Blue and Link look up to Ciela who is fluttering around some sort of button sticking out from the wall above the door, blending into the design carved around the doorway, "Maybe this unlocks the door!"

"Can you push it?" Link asks as he steps closer to get a better look, the glow of her light reflecting off the polished surface.

"Uh, no, sorry...it's made out of metal too."

"Which means we'll just have to figure out a way to push it from down here." It was a simple conclusion without a simple answer. Why would anyone put a button lock above a door where practically no one could reach it was beyond him but the logistics of it could wait, they have a temple to explore, "Man, if only I had my arrows. Why'd they have to go missing?" He looks to Blue as if she had the answer, receiving only a small shrug in return. Looking around, they had two pathways they could take. The room was fairly symmetrical, neither path looking any different from the other, both most likely leading to similar spaces. They could split up but they didn't know how big the temple was and thus, unsure of how far Blue could go from Link. Ciela didn't exactly have a means of defending herself and so had no choice for to stick near him.

In the end, they just decided to go with the right pathway after a process of elimination.

The corridors were not much different from the main room, the same flooring and walls stretched along as they went. On occasion, Link would see a rat or two scurry along, the sounds of keeses clicking as they passed but otherwise left alone. Blue took the lead in case anything decided to pop up, a familiar role to the more seasoned dungeon crawlers that's pretty much become routine for them after doing it over and over again on their last adventure. Ciela stuck near Link, keeping watch for anything out of place that might be useful for them to opening the door. Despite the damage done to the temple, there weren't any loose stones to use on the button and the broken chips of wall wouldn't be heavy enough to make it all the way up above the door.

After a moment, they arrive to what looks like a storage room, shelves lined with books and empty jars. It felt cooler compared to the main room, probably because it was further away from the core of the volcano. It was rather small, the ceiling hanging much lower with much less visible light seeping through the walls. Ciela flutters around the room a bit, Link following her as he gazes around, "I don't see anything useful here." It didn't seem like they cleared anything out before they left, bottles filled with various liquids still sat on the shelves and a few tools remained. Everything was covered in dirt and dust, emphasizing the fact that the temple has been long abandoned.

"Hey," His attention turns to Blue who was floating near a table with an open book on it, squinting at the pages layered with grime, "Come take a look at this."

Link and Ciela look at each other before heading over to the table, the fairy's soft glow providing enough light for him to read. The book seemed very old, faded ink of yellowed pages, the leather cover worn at the edges and the brass clasp on the side dull. Carefully, Link brushes dirt off the book to reveal a passage. It was hard to make out but he reads it aloud.

"Our King once spoke about the prosperity and life that was rich within our lands, his hopes for the future for his people. We watched the very same lands fall just the night before, engulfed not in flames but in death. It came without much notice, people trying to escape it's cold dark tendrils before their lives could be taken away. If it were not for our beloved knights, many more would have fallen. But still, with stricken with grief and sorrow at the death of our families and friends, of our kingdom that we loved so dearly. The land we've settled upon, we'll begin to rebuild our lives, like our King would have wanted us to. But for tonight, we have a moment of silence for our unbearable pain in our hearts."

Ciela shivers as Link reads out the passage, Blue frowning as well, "How creepy! I wonder what kingdom they're talking about though?"

"I don't know but whatever made their kingdom fall...do you think that's what happened here?" He looks up to her, Ciela giving no answer before he flips through a few pages, skimming over a few of them. The book seemed much older than what he thought, at least a generation older. Whoever wrote in the journal to start had passed it onto his son who, apparently, helped with maintaining the temple as well. There were many pleasant entries of mundane things, everyday life or some deeper thoughts explained. Nothing that really stood out to Link though about what they had been referring to the cause of disaster at the beginning. He skips to the last entry of the journal which seemed to have been made around a week ago.

"There are rumors beginning to spread that monsters are appearing out of no where, attacking people with malice and leaving behind nothing but ash. I grow worried, worried that history is doomed to repeat itself and the village we've grown will be burnt to the ground, much like our kingdom long ago. Our Fortune Teller speaks of hope, that they'll come when the time is dire. Is it not dire right now? People are dying and no one knows what to do. I fear not for myself, but for my dear friend. If I do not return, if I fall in battle, I offer my deepest apologies for not being strong enough to serve better..."

Link feels like he's read enough, closing the book as a puff of dust kicks up.

It get's into his nose and mouth, leaving his eyes to water as he coughs, trying to wave the dust away. Ciela is asking him if he's alright but something glimmers through his watery vision. Quickly, Link rubs the tears away to see a mouse staring straight back at him, a small shiny key wrapped around it's tail. That key, it might lead to something important or useful! He ignores Ciela as he tries to lunge for it, only to have the critter scurry into a nearby hole, "Darn it!"

"Link, what in Din's name are you doing?" Blue drawls out, sounding exasperated.

"There's a mouse with a key! It could lead to something important!"

Blue glances over the hole, frowning slightly, mice aren't exactly easy to catch and they really shouldn't be wasting time. Ciela flutters on over to where the hole was, a small squeak could be heard as it emerges again, only to duck inside when Link tries to grab it, "I could try possessing it so you have enough time to grab it."

Link doesn't quite like that idea, knowing the girl gets tired whenever she does that. But they didn't have a lot of time but the key that mouse had could be something they'll need.

With a begrudging sigh, Blue took that as a yes, asking Ciela to lure out the mouse again with her light. She hovers near the opening, chiming quietly as the mouse squeaks. Just as it's head peeks out, Blue zips over and fazes into it, holding the creature down as Link hurries on over to free the key from its tail, "Got it!" Blue exits out of the mouse which scurries away, it's squeaking voice echoing down the hall, "I wonder what this opens?"

"I don't think it's anything in here." Ciela glances around the room, spotting nothing but an already opened book with a lock, "Maybe somewhere else in the temple?"

"Could be, not like we have much of a choice."

Just then, a large rumble could be felt through out the temple, nearly knocking Link over and Ciela moves out of the way of some crumbling dirt. A few jars fall off the shelf, shattering on the floor to add to the rest of the mess present. It almost felt like the ground was moving and Link feared that the volcano was actually going to erupt. Everything stills after a minutes and Ciela's flutters her wings quickly to shake off the dusty dirt, "What was that? That was insane!"

"We're running out of time." Blue guesses, frowning slightly before looking to the boy who was pushing himself off the ground, "Let's check out the other side of the temple, maybe there'll be something useful there." She doesn't wait for a response, immediately floating down the hallway which confused Link. She seemed a bit tired but possessing a mouse wasn't exactly what he would call a tough job.

Perhaps it was the unsettling feeling like they were being watched that was bothering her.

* * *

"Again! Such a small room compared to the main one."

"Hey, at least it makes it easy to look around."

Once again, the trio arrived to a small storage like room that was at the end of a long hall. They ran into a few electric chuchus along the way which were quickly dealt with, nothing that was much of a challenge for Link. The storage space was similar to the last one except this space seemed much more empty, a slight fusty odour in the air probably meant that this place stored food. There were a few crates and pots tucked in a corner, a sheet draped lazily over them. Link goes over and yanks it off, shielding his face from a cloud of dust as Ciela coughs, "Sorry."

"It's okay!"

"Hey, a chest."

Low and behold, behind the crates was indeed a chest with a small lock attached to the front. Link sends a cheeky grin to Blue as if to say "I told you so" about the key being important. The girl rolls her eyes a bit, stuffing her hands into her pocket, "Okay, fine, you were right. Let's just see if we can find something in there that can hit that switch above the door." So far, everything's been going along rather smoothly and if her experience has taught her anything, something bad was going to happen any minute. Judging from how badly the temple has been shaking for the past half hour, Blue has a few guesses about what that bad thing might be and she can't wait to leave this place.

After moving a few crates and jars out of the way, Link crouches near the chest and pulls the key out of his pocket. With a click, the lock falls off and they lift the lid to see what's inside. There actually wasn't much and he felt surprised by the fact that a chest full of old clothing had been locked up to begin with. He digs through them, searching to see if maybe there was something else inside before feeling something down at the bottom, "Oh, what's this?" Pulling it out, he finds that it's a wooden boomerang. The body was painted yellow with a metal piece set at the bend, a small red gem sat in the centre. The ends had pointed metal pieces as well, giving the weapon a decent weight without making it too heavy. Ciela's wings droop a bit in disappointment, despite the grin that stretches across Link's face, "This is perfect!"

"I don't know, it doesn't seem like it can do much..."

"No, really, I mean it. I've used one of these before, they're super useful!"

"But why was in a locked chest?" Blue seemed confused at that as the boy tucks the new toy into his belt, already hurrying off down the hall that lead back to the main room.

"I think I remember seeing something about it in the journal back in the other room. Whoever wrote in it said his son accidentally broke something with something he made and so they locked it away somewhere until they were old enough. I guess it was the boomerang, they must have forgotten about it." It was all the way in the bottom of that chest, tucked away and hidden from view. Judging by everything that had been going on in the journal, it wouldn't surprise him if that actually happened. Still, a part of him was grateful that they forgot about it. Link knew that he could get to that switch now using the useful tool, having used one in the Forbidden Woods when he was on the search for Farore's Pearl. He can still remember the large plant-like creature hidden within that place and how much trouble it caused him.

As they head down the hallway, Link pauses for a moment, hearing a strange some coming from the way they came. Blue stops as well, looking behind her to the boy with a confused expression, "Hey, we gotta hurry up."

"Did you hear that though?" He looks over his shoulder to see if he could spot what was making that sound, "It's coming from back there."

"We just came from there, remember?" Ciela doesn't see anything odd either, whizzing down the hall to see what he was talking about, "I didn't see any-" Before shrieking, quickly heading over to Link who pulls out his sword and shield, "It's a flying skull on fire!"

"A wha-?" The confusion turns into wide eyed shock as several floating skulls come from around the corner, fire crackling around them as bright green lights glowed from within their eye sockets, "What are those things?"

"I don't know but I don't think it's a good idea to touch them." Link feels like his wooden shield isn't going to work against them and he couldn't get close enough to them without getting burnt. Still, he holds it up and begins to back away, Blue frowning slightly at them. There be no way she could possess them without getting hurt by their flames, figuring they were caused by magic. But even if they weren't very quick, they would still cause them problems if left along. Just as the girl was about to dismiss the concerns and possess one of them, Link pulls out the boomerang they had gotten before.

"Wait, that thing is made out of wooden, it's going to burn up!"

"Trust me, it'll be fine!" He says, lining up the boomerang with one of the creatures before throwing it with practised ease. It makes direct contact with the front most skull's forehead, knocking it into the one behind it which stuns them both. Link is quick to jump into action, smashing his shield into the extinguished skulls to crush the brittle bones. He looks over to the boomerang not too far from him, seeing that it was still intact, "Hey, not even a mark!"

"Seriously?" Blue sounds at a disbelief as Link picks up the boomerang and looks it over, the small red gem in the middle gleaming in the red glow of the temple, "Maybe it's fire proof, that might explain why there's a red stone on it."

"I thought it was just decoration." But he shrugs, it didn't matter too much to him as long as he could still use it. As he looks it over, he spots something carved onto one of the ends. It was just a single letter, faded with time but still readable as the boy brushes his thumb over it, a small frown forming.

"What is it?" Ciela asks, hovering over to him to see what might be wrong. But the kid just shrugs, tucking the boomerang back into his belt.

"It's nothing, we should hurry though before more of...whatever that was...shows up."

As soon as they reached the main room again, Link could swear it was hotter than before, the temple rumbled again as pieces of rock and dirt fell from the ceiling above. The volcano was going to burst any moment and it be more than just Ciela and Link that would get caught in the flames. Hurrying over back to the sealed door, Link quickly throws the boomerang up to the switch above, hitting it dead centre. The doors unlock with a click, allowing Link to pull it open. He quickly moves out of the way though as flames stretch out from behind the door, "Wow, it's even worse in there!"

"Maybe it's the centre of the volcano." Ciela chimes, whizzing on over as the flames die down a bit, "This is insane, there's flames everywhere!"

The room was a large circular area centred within the middle of a pool of lava far below them. A platform connected the middle of the room to the doorway, flames coming up from the sides. In the middle of the room stood a tall dark figure who had their back to them. Their robes were a dark purplish-red, just barely covering their claw-like hands. It was hard to tell what the horns on it's head was but they glowed like embers. Blue could feel a similar foul energy coming off of them, the same one that was back on the Ghost Ship. There had to be a connection between the two but what it was, she didn't know.

The doors sudden shut behind them, Link quickly pulls out his sword as the figure turns to face them. Their face looked like it had been burnt to ashes, crackled black skin that stretched over a bony face with sharp white teeth. Their eyes were bulging out from their sockets, deep blue eyes with red glowing iris peered at them with a sick gleeful look, "Foolish children," Even their voice sounded as if it had been burnt by the flames, "You will become food for the flames of Blaaz, Master of Fire!"

The room quakes as flames burst even higher from the lava below, "So this is the one who's been making the earthquakes!" Ciela realizes as Link shields himself from getting burnt, "They're going to erupt the volcano!"

"I'll try and stun him, you just go in for the kill." Blue begins to hurry on over to Blaaz who grins at her, causing her to hesitant a moment too long when she realizes it could see her, or maybe just sense where she was. It was just like back at the Temple of the Ocean King, with those armoured beings wandering the lower floor. Before she could do anything, Blaaz splits into three small triplets which begin to zip around the area. One of them ends up passing through her which causes her to yelp.

"Blue!"

"I'm okay!" While magic could still touch her, whatever nature it was couldn't affect her. Which means that Blaaz's fire magic couldn't burn her...that didn't mean it didn't hurt. But there was no way Link could hit them while they were like this, seeming to be unaffected by his sword as he swings at them when they get too close. Flames would simple lick around the blade as through they were made of fire themselves. The room shakes again, even worse than before as chunks of rock break off from the walls to crumple into the lava. Time was running out and if they didn't figure something out, the volcano was going to erupt.

"Link, the boomerang!" Blue's head whips over to Ciela who is hovering near one of the triplets, lighting up brightly to be seen through the fire and smoke. That's when it clicked in her mind, forgetting about what happened with those flaming skulls back in the hallway. If it was true that it could physically touch something despite the magical flames, it could prove useful against Blaaz.

Link distance's himself a bit from them, pulling free the tool as he drops his shield on the floor, throwing it as hard as he could at the nearest one. The boomerang makes contact, smacking one of the triplets into another which had zips behind it, the two moulding together back into one being, slightly larger than it's previous form. That, that was it! That's what they had to do! Ciela cheers and Blue get's an idea, "Ciela, stay on the larger!" Blue hears her, hurrying over to the smaller one still zipping around as Link dodged the fire spells being aimed at him. If she could get it close enough to the other one, they could knock it into the larger one and hopefully return Blaaz back to his regular form.

After moving into it's path a few times to get it's attention, the mini Blaaz begins to try and attack her. She moves out of the way just in time before it tries to ram her again, gritting her teeth as it passes through her. Their magic was pretty strong, Blue worries for Link fighting the larger one. She begins to lead it towards the larger one, charging straight at it as the smaller one chased her. Ciela continues to hover above it which makes it easy to keep track of where it was, damn thing blended very well with the rest of the surroundings. Just as she approaches it, Blue immediately stops, causing the smaller one to fly right through her and run into it's twin, forming together to reveal Blaaz back into his true form.

In his moment of confusion, Link throws the boomerang to stun the flaming foe before swinging his sword at it, slashing it through it's body as it howls in pain. The room trembles as the lava below begins to bubble, it was just a matter of seconds before their death, "Link!" Ciela calls out, voice tight with alarm but was drowned by the cracking of stone. The boy shields his face from a rush of flames, giving Blaaz a chance to attack but was ultimately defeated when Link leans under the flames to thrust his sword forward, piercing it's body for the final blow.

As it's body begins to crumble, turning into dust, Blaaz screams before finally falling silent. Everything is still, the shaking ceases and the flames die down as Link let's out a breath, "We did it..."

Ciela goes to see if he's okay before the pile of dust suddenly comes to life, spouting upwards as though it were a geyser, raining the fine sparkling grains back down, "Wait, that's not ash! It's the sands!"

"That means..." Link turns to look behind him, seeing a glow of red form on the ground in the middle of the room with the same symbol as the one they had found on the map. A small ball of light begins to emerge from the light, about the size of Ciela but the same color as the red mark. It floats there for a moment before four small wings sprout from it's body, fluttering and glittering in the glow of the volcano's fire, "We freed the Spirit of Power!"

"I..." The newly formed fairy sounds confused for a moment, as if forgetting what they were trying to say, "I am Leaf...the Spirit of Power that serves the Ocean King!" Leaf says, not bothering to keep the joy from his voice as he whizzes over to Link and Ciela, "Thank you for freeing me from the power of darkness!"

"No problem! What happened though?" Ciela asks as Link goes to collect the sand into the hourglass.

"Some years ago, when I was with the Ocean King who governs over these waters, I was attacked by a deep shadow and sealed away." Leaf's wings droop a bit, the red glow dimming with worry, "I wonder what's become of the Ocean King..."

"That's what we're trying to figure out too." Link rejoins them with the hourglass now filled with sand. Surprisingly, it hadn't been that much, filling only about an inch of the hourglass, "We should go see if Astrid knows where to go next." Link says, frowning slightly when he realizes he hasn't heard from Blue yet. It takes only a few seconds to find her, hovering over from where the exit was, arms limp to her sides and still facing away from them. Oh, so that's what it was. He knew exactly what he'd see when he goes to stand in front of her, seeing the blank expression staring at nothing and unblinking. Her mind was else where, her energy depleted and now the girl would be like this for some time.

The first time Blue had "zoned out" (as he refers it to), it scared him. She would still follow him around, but that's all she would do. She wouldn't talk or move or anything, just float beside him as if she really were dead. It would still concern him whenever she would end up like this, completely detached from her conscious for quite some time, that's why they made it a rule that she would only possess things if absolutely necessary. As great as a power it was, they both understood that the consequences could be disastrous if it happened at the wrong time.

Link sighs, Ciela fluttering on over beside him, "What's wrong, Link?"

He debates if he should explain to her about Blue's issue but decides to hold off for now until they were back on the ship, he was tired and in desperate need of a cold bath to cool off, "Nothing, we should probably leave now. The heat is unbearable." He turns, beginning to head towards the exit, "Leaf, come and join us! We're gonna need your help for a bit!"

* * *

Astrid was very kind, seeming to already know what he needed as soon as he got back to her home after returning with Leaf in tow.

The Fortune Teller offers him a bath which he gladly accepts, being handed a pair of fresh clothing (which were, unfortunately, a bit large on him) before being directed to a waiting tub filled with cool water. He notices patches of skin that were slightly red from when he faced Blaaz, they stung slightly but were otherwise fine. He was no stranger to injuries, they were inevitable sometimes and preventable most of the time, learning over time how to take care of them thanks to the helpful guidance of Blue. As he cleans up, Link ponders about that for a moment,. Despite what age she seemed, Blue was quite smart. From the day he met her, she never acted like the age she appeared to be which always seemed odd to him, even those there were people like Tetra who did the same. But it wasn't so much in the way she spoke that threw him off but how well versed she was in things like combat and medicine. It wasn't like Blue knew things that were beyond his understanding, it was more so the fact she knew that stuff at all.

He remembers questioning her about it one time, after he got cut by a moblin in the Forbidden Fortress. She had shrugged, telling him it didn't matter that much if it proved to be useful.

Blue doesn't question how she understands things because the answer would always be the same.

Link wonders what she was in her past life, having no idea where to even begin as he reenters Astrid's sitting room, Ciela and Leaf fluttering over to greet him, "Feeling any better?"

"Yeah, it feels great to be out of that place." He smiles at his companion.

"You have done well in defeating one of the powers of shadow, Link." Astrid glides over from around the table, hands lightly clasped together, "The Spirit you released is needed in your search for the Ghost Ship."

That surprised him, blinking at her smiling face hidden behind the thin veil, "I...never mentioned the Ghost Ship. How did you know?"

She laughs lightly, resting a hand on top his slightly damp hair, "As a Fortune Teller, I can see everything." She brushes some hair from out of his eyes before going to sit back in her seat, leaning forward to rest her hands on top her crystal ball, "Power, Wisdom, Courage...once you reunite these Spirits, you'll be able to find the Ghost Ship. The light of the remaining two continues to dim, you must make haste."

"You got it!"

Leaf flutters on over in front of Link, noticing his chime was a bit deeper than Ciela's, "I will gladly aid you on your journey. You can count on me."

Ciela was happy with that, whizzing around the two in joy, "Yay, Leaf is on the team too!" It was nice to see everyone in good spirits (no pun intended). It was a shame about Blue though, still floating limply beside him with a distance expression but he knew that she would be fine later on. That didn't mean it wasn't bothering him but he had to be optimistic about the situation which he's gone through many times before.

Just then, Linebeck enters the room, grinning once he spots Link, "Ho, ho, well done! Just what I would expect from my underling!" He throws an arm enthusiastically around the boy's shoulders as Link throws him a look, knowing already what the lazy sailor was thinking of, "That makes us one step closer to the treasure! Yahoo!"

"You and your love of money..."

Astrid seems to find it amusing, lightly laughing as Ciela sighs, "I suppose even he can lend you a hand."

"I wish that were true..." Grumbles the fairy, going over to them as Link wiggles out from under Linkbeck's arm, "Come on, let's go back to the ship!"

After bidding farewell to Astrid, everyone boards the ship where Link immediately flops onto the deck with a sigh. Linkbeck breaks out the map to skim it over, looking for any hints as to where they could go next, "So what did that woman say, kid?"

He glowers at the man for calling him that but says nothing of it, knowing he'd just argue with him and he was too tired for that, "That there was light trapped within darkness."

"Light trapped within darkness?" He sounds too gleeful about that, that's concerning to Link, "That must be shiny treasure just waiting for me to find it!"

"Oh, just figure out where we're suppose to go next!"

"Well, kid, there's an issue with that." The sailor huffs, flipping the map over to present it to the boy, "There's nothing else there."

"What?" Ciela flutters over to look over the map, Link lifting his head to read it upside down and frowns when he sees he's right. All the dirt had been cleaned off, showing nothing else present on the chart. That means they were back to square one with no clue where to go. He groans, flopping his head back onto the deck, "There has to be some sort of clue somewhere."

"I'm too tired..."

"Where'd you even get that map to begin with?" Leaf asks curiously, hovering near Link as the boy closes his eyes. The breeze felt nice, making his hair tickle his face as the warm sunny rays dried him off.

"From the Temple of the Ocean King." Ciela joins him, Leaf seeming to have an idea as his red glow brightens.

"Then we should go there again, there should be other maps hidden within the Temple that show the locations where the other Spirits would be." It was the only decent plan they had and since it would take some time before they reached Mercay Island again, it gave Link plenty of time to relax. Well, that's if Linebeck doesn't work him like a dog until then. The sailor shrugs, seeming to agree before getting up and heading into his cabin to begin setting course.

It was then Link felt it, a serene calm that came from being out on the open waters. His memories take him back to the first time he had set sail, on the ship with Tetra and her crew with Blue by his side. Even if it had been brief to begin with and most of the time, the two were bickering, they were still times he enjoyed. He got to know the crew, learn a few things along the way, experience something he never thought of doing before his little sister had been taken by that stupid bird. They were times he would never trade for, thankful for the chance to be able to venture out and experience a sense of freedom he never thought of.

He had Tetra to thank for letting him have that chance and Blue to thank for guiding him through the rougher waves.

All the danger in the world would never keep him from helping out his friends and in the end, Link knew he'd be able to safe Tetra and return back to their adventures.

"Just you wait, Tetra..." Link mumbles before finally drifting off to sleep.

* * *

**Hello, yes, I'm alive!**

**Apologies if it's been a while but I had to do a bit of a hiatus due to medical issues (I was in a lot of pain so it made it hard to focus on writing but everything is fine now). I'll put in my profile if I have to leave for a period of time so if you ever wonder why it's taking a while for an update, you can just go check there. Again, sorry if this took a while! Thank you very much to everyone who has supported this story thus far and I'll try my best to have the next chapter ready to go! **

**Happy Writings,  
KB**


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